Last month was the hottest January since records began, US officials have said.
The global average land and ocean surface temperature was 1.14C above the average January temperatures for the 20th century, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.
In parts of Russia, Scandinavia and eastern Canada, temperatures exceeded the average by 5C.
Warmer temperatures mean melting snow and ice. The extent of Arctic sea ice was 5.3 per cent below the average from 1981-2010, and Antarctic sea ice was 9.8 per cent below average.
According to NOAA, it beat the record for the previously hottest January, which was set in 2016.
It added that the four warmest Januaries on record have occurred since 2016, while the 10 warmest Januaries have taken place since 2002.
The hottest January after the second hottest year on record “is one of those indications that things are warming dramatically”, said University of Illinois climate scientist Don Wuebbles.
Scientists began keeping temperature records in 1880.
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