The world has just experienced the hottest summer on record

“This series of record temperatures increases the likelihood that 2024 will be the warmest year on record,” Burgess said in a written statement.

“The extreme temperature events seen this summer will only intensify, with even more devastating consequences for people and the planet, unless we take urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” she added.

The data from C3S, which tracks global daily average temperatures since 1940, comes after an unprecedented number of national heat records have been broken since the start of the year.

Extreme heat is made much more likely by the climate crisis, the main driver of which is the burning of fossil fuels.

Scientists have repeatedly called for rapid reductions in greenhouse gas emissions to halt the rise in global average temperatures.