Last year was one of the three hottest years on record, an analysis of five climate studies has reported with global temperatures up 2.3°F on pre-industrial levels.
Experts from the World Meteorological Organisation who studied the international datasets said that the three hottest years on record have all fallen in the last decade.
One of the data sources for the analysis came from researchers at the UK National Centre for Atmospheric Science, the University of East Anglia and the Met Office.
They said 2020 was the second-hottest year on record, only 0.018°F (0.01°C) cooler than 2016, when temperatures were 2.32°F (1.29°C) above pre-industrial levels.