The year of 2019 was the second-hottest year since records began, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Wednesday, adding that heat was likely to lead to more extreme weather events like the Australian bushfires in 2020 and beyond.
The figures from the Geneva-based WMO crunches several datasets including from NASA and the UK Met Office.
It showed that the average global temperature in 2019 was 1.1 degree Celsius (34 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels, creeping towards a globally agreed limit after which major changes to life on Earth are expected.