Last year was the hottest since records began that was not influenced by the ‘El Nino’ weather pattern.
Despite 2017 not being quite as hot as 2016, scientists say that this shows a clear sign of man-made global warming because it was the hottest year that was not naturally boosted by El Nino.How mum working part time at Matalan afforded £10,000 holiday and £42,000 Merc
El Nino is the term widely used to describe the warming of sea surface temperature that occurs every few years, typically concentrated in the central-east equatorial Pacific.
Figures from a series of different international analyses show that 2017 was one of the three hottest years on record, with temperatures around 1.1C above pre-industrial levels.
Last year’s temperatures were beaten only by the record heat of 2016, and in some of the analyses by 2015.
However, both 2016 and 2015 saw a significant El Nino, contributing to the rise in temperature.
The main contributor to the rising temperatures over the last 150 years is human activity, such as burning fossil fuels which puts heat-trapping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, experts said.Driver laughed after sending man flying 50ft when he hit him
One of the analyses of global temperatures was done by the Met Office Hadley Centre and the University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit.
Dr Colin Morice, of the Met Office Hadley Centre, said: ‘The global temperature figures for 2017 are in agreement with other centres around the world that 2017 is one of the three warmest years and the warmest year since 1850 without the influence of El Nino.
‘2015, 2016 and 2017 were the three warmest years in the series.
‘In addition to the continuing sizeable contribution from the release of greenhouse gases, 2015 and 2016 were boosted by the effect of a strong El Nino, which straddled both years.
‘However, 2017 is notable because the high temperatures continued despite the absence of El Nino and the onset of its cool counterpart, La Nina.’Seriously creepy moment man hides behind cars as he stalks women
Friends of the Earth Scotland Climate Campaigner Caroline Rance, said: ‘We’re now seeing global temperature records smashed year after year, with the last three years being the warmest ever recorded.
‘This terrifying trend brings us more unpredictable and extreme weather events, which for Scotland means more floods, storms and droughts.
‘Globally 2017 saw an alarming number of wildfires, floods, hurricanes and droughts around the world, which had devastating consequences for millions of people.’
The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), which brings together five leading international datasets, said temperatures were on the rise over the long-term.
WMO secretary-general Petteri Taalas said: ‘The long-term temperature trend is far more important than the ranking of individual years, and that trend is an upward one.
‘Seventeen of the 18 warmest years on record have all been during this century, and the degree of warming during the past three years has been exceptional.
‘Arctic warmth has been especially pronounced and this will have profound and long-lasting repercussions on sea levels, and on weather patterns in other parts of the world.’