Last seven years the hottest on record

The EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service has said the 2021 European summer was the warmest on record; above, people make the most of the sunshine on Claycastle and Redbarn beaches in east Cork in July. Picture: Denis Minihane.

The last seven years were the hottest on record by a clear distance, with both carbon and methane emissions driving the rise.

The EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service has said global concentrations of carbon dioxide, and especially methane, continue to increase.