Latest figures from the UN’s World Meterological Organization (WMO) released on Monday showed that 2016 would very likely become the hottest year on record. This is a new high for the third year running, and means that 16 of the 17 hottest years on record have been this century.
This year saw searing heatwaves from South Africa to India, Arctic ice reach its equal second-lowest extent and coral mortality of up to 50% in parts of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.
“Another year. Another record,” said WMO secretary-general, Petteri Taalas. “The extra heat from the powerful El Niño event has disappeared. The heat from global warming will continue.”
Because of climate change, the occurrence and impact of extreme weather events have risen, he said, with “once in a generation” heatwaves and flooding becoming more regular.
From drought-hit Nigeria to wine-growing Finland, the lives of many people around the world have already been changed by a warming world - we’ve rounded up their stories here.
Jessica Aldred, environment production editor
