Warmest year ever caps ‘a decade of deadly heat’

Global warming pumps energy into weather systems creating or amplifying events such as the flash floods earlier this year which devastated parts of Spain and claimed more than 200 lives. Picture: Alberto Saiz/AP 

The world has endured a “decade of deadly heat”, with 2024 capping 10 years of unprecedented temperatures, the UN has said.

In his new year message, UN secretary general Antonio Guterres said the 10 hottest years on record have happened in the last decade, including 2024.