2017 set to be one of hottest years on record

This year is expected to be one of the hottest on record, with temperatures more than 1C above pre-industrial levels, the World Meteorological Organisation has said.

While 2017 won’t be hotter than the record 2016, it is expected to be the second- or third-warmest year recorded — and the hottest without the influence of the warm ‘El Nino’ ocean current, which pushes up global temperatures.

High temperatures have been accompanied by “extraordinary weather”, from record-breaking hurricanes to heatwaves, flooding and drought, many of which bear the tell-tale sign of climate change caused by human activity, the WMO said.