The world’s average temperature has reached a new high for the third time in a week, unofficial records show.
Data analysed by a group of US scientists shows the global average temperature on Thursday was 17.23C.
It breaks the 17.01C record set on Monday, surpassed just a day later when the average temperature reached 17.18C.
The temperatures are being driven by human-induced climate change and the naturally-occurring weather pattern known as El Niño, scientists say.
The El Niño Southern Oscillation, or ENSO as it is also called, is the most powerful fluctuation in the climate system anywhere on Earth. It happens every three to seven years, and in the warming phase, warmer waters come to the surface of the tropical Pacific and push heat into the atmosphere.