2024 recorded a global average temperature of 15.10 degrees Celsius, 1.60 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, driven by record-high greenhouse gas emissions
Last week, Copernicus - the EU's climate science service - said July was the second hottest month ever recorded. But this week, NASA and the US NOAA said it was the world's hottest
Data suggest 2024 could outrank 2023 as the hottest year since records began after human-caused climate change and the El Nino natural weather phenomenon both pushed temperatures to record high
"This has been a very exceptional year, climate-wise... in a league of its own, even when compared to other very warm years," C3S Director Carlo Buontempo said
The average worldwide temperature was 17C (63F), just above the previous record of 16.9C reached in August 2016, according to data from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction
Other major takeaways from the report include that the extent of Arctic summer sea ice has declined at a rate of 12 per cent per decade over the past 40 years
