On July 7, the world’s average temperature was 17.24 degrees Celsius, shattering the previous record of 16.94 degrees set on August 16 of 2016, data from the Japan Meteorological Agency showed.
Antarctic sea ice was at its lowest level for June since satellite surveillance started, at 17 per cent below average, the WMO noted.
El Nino is a natural climate pattern in the Pacific Ocean that brings warmer sea-surface temperatures, often leading to heatwaves, droughts and floods around the world.
It occurs on average every two to seven years, with episodes lasting nine to 12 months, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“Global warming has been shown to increase the likelihood of extreme temperature events,” said Francis Tam, associate professor of earth system science, and Cao Dingrui, PhD candidate, at Chinese University of Hong Kong. “El Nino can further exacerbate the occurrence of severe heatwaves in some regions.
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“However, accurately quantifying the separate contributions of human-induced global warming and El Nino to hot events is still scientifically challenging.”
Heatwaves have become regular occurrences in recent years. This year, South and Southeast Asia got hit as early as mid-April, when record-breaking temperatures were reported in India, Bangladesh, southwest China, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, Singapore and Vietnam.
In June, a hot spell hit northern China. Beijing saw daily high temperatures of at least 35 degrees on 16 days of the month, culminating on June 22 with a record June reading of 41.1 degrees.
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A prolonged heatwave that scorched swathes of southern Europe, sending daytime highs to between the mid-30s and mid-40s last week, is forecast to continue until the end of the month.
In the southern US state of Texas, a stagnant high-pressure system that caused temperatures to spike five or more degrees above average for much of last month is forecast to last until late this month.
In Hong Kong, July yielded 10 very hot days – with maximums above 33 degrees – by July 15.
There is a two in three chance that between this year and 2027, the annual average global temperature will exceed 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels for at least one of the five years, the WMO said in May.
Under the Paris agreement signed by nearly 200 nations in 2016, global leaders have committed to contain global warming to well below 2 degrees, and to strive to keep it at 1.5 degrees by implementing decarbonisation policies.
However, policies in place as of last November around the world would result in 2.7 degrees of warming, according to Climate Action Tracker.
One of the most unusual heatwaves this year is taking place in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, which saw record-high sea-surface temperatures last month: 1.36 degrees above average for the month.
Short-term abnormal circulation in the atmosphere and longer-term changes in the ocean caused the surge, according to European Union-backed research institute Copernicus Climate Change Service.
Such marine heatwaves could have serious consequences for the trajectory and intensity of hurricanes in the summer, as well as mid-latitude cyclones in the winter, said Gabriel Lau Ngar-cheung, professor emeritus at the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s department of geography and resource management.
They can also lead to severe and persistent impacts on marine ecosystems, such as changes in phytoplankton blooms, toxic algal blooms and declines in fish catches, said Richard Betts, chair in climate impacts at the UK’s University of Exeter.
Meanwhile, in East Asia, a southeastward shift in the origin points of tropical cyclones, as well as a later than normal onset to the typhoon season, can be expected in a typical El Nino year, said Tam and Cao.
El Nino typically leads to both more intense and longer lasting typhoons, Betts said. More of them would make landfall at higher latitudes, such as northeast China, South Korea and Japan, while fewer would tend to hit further south, in the Philippines, southern China and Vietnam, he added.