increase in co2 concentrations in the atmosphere. the link between c02 and rising temperatures is well established and this year global temperatures got an extra boost thanks to el nino, which brings warmer water to the surface of parts of the tropical pacific. that explains why february was 1.77 degrees warmer than preindustrial temperatures, and why global average temperatures hit a record 1.55 degrees above preindustrial levels over the last 12 months. it means we have temporarily at least breached the 1.5 degrees threshold the world agreed to try and limit temperature rise to, to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. february 2024 was the warmest february on record globally, with an average temperature of 13.54 degrees, above the 1991—2020 temperature. while this is remarkable, because, for instance, it is a tenth of a degree warmer than the warmest previous february, which was 2016, it's not really surprising, because this has been the el nino year, where temperatures tend to be warmer than usual, and more importantly, we have seen over the last few decades a piling up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere which bring up the temperature of the entire planet. we all enjoy warm weather, especially after the downpours this winter, but we should worry when the seasons get out of whack. some plants and animals can struggle to survive. though scientists say urgent action to cut emissions can still slow warming. justin rowlatt, bbc news. earlier, i spoke to dr ella gilbert who is a climate scientist with the british antarctic survey. this comes as no surprise to anyone who has been paying attention. because as long as we continue to emit greenhouse gases, we are going to continue seeing these records falling. the last nine months have been the hottest on record for each of those months. i think that is almost certain to continue as we go into 202a. what happens if this continues, then, and we have this same conversation in a year, where it has continued to increase each month? what are the implications of that? the problem is that every tenth of a degree, every fraction of a degree, means a tangible impact on ecosystems, it means a tangible impact on people's lives and livelihoods. and we are going to see more extreme events. heatwaves like we saw with a0 degrees in 2022. the floods, wildfires and droughts we saw in 2023. this is just going to be a flavour of what's to come and these impacts willjust continue to become more exaggerated with continued emissions of greenhouse gases and continued warming. so whatever we do has to be to limit those kinds of effects, we have to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. we have to reduce the rate of temperature rise to protect ourselves from these kinds of damaging impacts. year, but is it human we heard injustin�*s report that it's an el nino year, but is it human behaviour that's the main cause? el nino is giving an extra boost. typically el nino can add 0.2 degrees to an ongoing trend but the main driving factor under this is human activity. we saw temperatures were 1.77 degrees above average and that's an astronomical difference from what we would expect without climate change. there is no doubt that climate change is driven almost entirely by human activity. finally, do you think people going about their daily business kind of understand the implications of this, because potentially if they are seeing a bit of a hotter summer for example, a bit more rain, are they actually understanding, do you think, the implications of this? i think people are starting to understand them. we are seeing more and more extreme events. i think nobody expected that crazy a0 degrees heat wave we saw in the uk a couple of years ago. people who were watching the news will have seen all the headlines about things like wild fires or floods, they may have experienced them themselves last year. these kind of things are happening more and more frequently, so people are already feeling the impacts of climate change and it's not necessarily just about the averages or the general, gentle changes. it's more about the kind of extremes we are experiencing that have real huge impacts. three crew members have been killed in a houthi missile strike on a liberian—owned cargo ship off southern yemen. it's the first deadly attack since the group began targeting international shipping last november. we ta ke we take a look at these images that came injust a we take a look at these images that came in just a few moments ago. they said it was drifting and on fire. the uk foreign secretary, lord cameron, is spending the day in berlin, with his german counterpart annalena baerbock. 0ne topic under discussion will be the deteriorating situation in gaza. the un has warned that more than half a million people there — a quarter of the population — are on the brink of famine. you may find these pictures distressing — they were sent to us by dr hussam abu safiyeh, who's the lead paediatrician at kamal adhwan hospital in northern gaza. he has been treating children suffering with malnutrition. on wednesday, the hamas—run gaza health ministry said the death toll from malnutrition and dehydration in gaza had risen to 18. before the conflict began in october, gaza relied on 500 aid trucks daily. the us says about 250 aid trucks crossed into gaza on tuesday. let's speak to james elder, spokesperson for unicef. really spokesperson for unicef. harrowing pictures we ars seeing really harrowing pictures we are seeing there. i remember speaking to you back in december when you were in gaza. it sounds like the situation has deteriorated an awful lot since then.— lot since then. rapidly and horrendously. _ lot since then. rapidly and horrendously. you're - lot since then. rapidly and | horrendously. you're right. lot since then. rapidly and - horrendously. you're right. those images, remembering that that is entirely predictable and man—made and preventable. it's very much what we were probably talking about in december, unicef�*s great fear beyond thousands and thousands are killed in the bombardments and under rubble, this warning aid has been giving for months and months. if you deprive people of food and water on nutrition water, you mightjust start to see deaths from starvation and dehydration. that start to see deaths from starvation and dehydration.— start to see deaths from starvation and dehydration. that is what we are seeinu and dehydration. that is what we are seeing nova — and dehydration. that is what we are seeing now. what _ and dehydration. that is what we are seeing now. what is _ and dehydration. that is what we are seeing now. what is it _ and dehydration. that is what we are seeing now. what is it like _ and dehydration. that is what we are seeing now. what is it like field - seeing now. what is it like field staff who were there, trying to help people, help children, help anyone who needs their help?— who needs their help? immensely frustratin: who needs their help? immensely frustrating in _ who needs their help? immensely frustrating in some _ who needs their help? immensely frustrating in some ways. - who needs their help? immensely frustrating in some ways. you - who needs their help? immenselyj frustrating in some ways. you talk about the number of trucks going in. february, where we are again very low on the amount of aid needed, half the number as compared to january. these restrictions on aid, when you talk about getting a convoy of medicine, life—saving nutritious food and water, and then again at the 11th hour, it's blocked. again, at the 11th hour. and you know what is happening in the north, if you look at the most vulnerable children, the youngest, the malnutrition rates there are three times higher than in ratho in the south. that speaks to the urgency in getting the side to those children. malnutrition is an underlying cause of death. a child will die of something like pneumonia. when you see a child dying of dehydration in a hospital, that is so distressing. that is a child that is so restricted. a doctor can't get a vein in theirarm, restricted. a doctor can't get a vein in their arm, though use a tube in the oesophagus. so distressing for a child, so distressing for a parent. as i say, it is man—made and preventable, and as you rightly say, it continues to get worse and will likely get worse until we see a ceasefire and can flood the gaza strip with life—saving aid. ceasefire and can flood the gaza strip with life-saving aid.- strip with life-saving aid. those ceasefire talks _ strip with life-saving aid. those ceasefire talks are _ strip with life-saving aid. those ceasefire talks are taking - strip with life-saving aid. those ceasefire talks are taking place | strip with life-saving aid. those l ceasefire talks are taking place in cairo. they'll resume next week. just briefly, what needs to change here? , ., , , ., just briefly, what needs to change here? , ., , i. ., , here? they need to see your images, to be honest. — here? they need to see your images, to be honest, and _ here? they need to see your images, to be honest, and realise _ here? they need to see your images, to be honest, and realise that- here? they need to see your images, to be honest, and realise that there l to be honest, and realise that there are children who are still kept hostage somewhere in gaza, and they need to go home. that torment needs to end, and then take raffle. three quarters of a million children are in ratho. they need to understand thatis in ratho. they need to understand that is now a city of children. the idea that you could now have a military offensive where three quarters of a million children in the population density of twice that, but not in the high rises, on the ground, somehow, the horrors that i saw in december and that we are speaking of now, somehow they will be worse in the coming days if these parties cannot find a way for these parties cannot find a way for the people of gaza to get a ceasefire.— the people of gaza to get a ceasefire. . ~' , ., , . here in the uk, the chancellor has cut national insurance contributions and raised the threshold for claiming child benefit in his last spring budget before the general election. jeremy hunt says the measures have been paid for by putting up taxes on business—class flights, vaping and smoking, but the office for budget responsibility warns the government could find it hard to balance the books. here's the chancellor talking to the bbc this morning. what i did yesterday was show how we're growing the economy, how our plan is working. and we're doing that partly because we're bringing down taxes. and the big divide in british politics... we've had to put up taxes, of course, because we wanted to support families in the pandemic and through the cost of living crisis. do we want those taxes to stay high? what conservatives say is, we look around the world, and we say the economies that are growing the fastest in north america and asia, are ones with lower taxes. the leader of the labour party keir starmer had his say onjeremy hunt's budget describing it as "humiliating for in for the government". how humiliating was that for the government yesterday? we how humiliating was that for the government yesterday?- government yesterday? we said fiuures government yesterday? we said figures that _ government yesterday? we said figures that they _ government yesterday? we said figures that they should - government yesterday? we said figures that they should get - government yesterday? we said figures that they should get rid l government yesterday? we said l figures that they should get rid of non—dom pack status and they've for this did that. now the only decent tax policy they've got is one that they've lifted from us. as we go into a general election, it is that, we need change. 0bviously, into a general election, it is that, we need change. obviously, we will keep coming back to the nhs, so important it is. we will go to all of the numbers and we will be absolutely clear that nothing in our manifesto will be funded and uncosted. that is an iron rule for the labour party. contrast that with the labour party. contrast that with the government, where yesterday, the end of the budget, the chancellor made a 46 billion pounds of unfunded commitment to abolish national insurance. that is bigger than liz truss's commitment. they have learnt absolutely nothing. we need change, it's time for change. we will go through, in an orderly fashion, all of the numbers now. we will keep the commitment to the nhs because it is really important we get this waiting lists down, but there will not be a single unfunded commitment in our manifesto. but £46 billion unfunded commitment yesterday from the chancellor at the end of the bosch jet to abolish national insurance? that is staggering. in the end, the overall story of the budget was, as ever, the government give with one hand and take much more with the other. people have seen 14 years of this. they are not going to be taken in by this con trick.— in by this con trick. they want chan . e. in by this con trick. they want change- it _ in by this con trick. they want change- it is _ in by this con trick. they want change. it is basing _ in by this con trick. they want change. it is basing much - in by this con trick. they want change. it is basing much of l in by this con trick. they want | change. it is basing much of its assumptions on population increases. do you support more economic migration as a means of a growth? irate migration as a means of a growth? we need migration as a means of a growth? - need a proper plan for growth. that is what the labour party is set out. we talk about that plan here on this construction site because it is about supply change and long—term decision—making. it's about making sure that public investment is matched by private investment. that will only happen with the economic stability, which will only happen under a labour government with tight fiscal rules. the complete opposite from what we saw yesterday from the government. d0 from what we saw yesterday from the government-— government. do you support the idea of more migration _ government. do you support the idea of more migration to _ government. do you support the idea of more migration to grow— government. do you support the idea of more migration to grow the - of more migration to grow the economy? i of more migration to grow the economy?— of more migration to grow the econom ? ~' ., ., economy? i think the way to grow the economy? i think the way to grow the econom is economy? i think the way to grow the economy is to — economy? i think the way to grow the economy is to have _ economy? i think the way to grow the economy is to have a _ economy? i think the way to grow the j economy is to have a long-term plan, economy is to have a long—term plan, a strategic plan to do with planning, supply change, making sure that government can ensure that private investment comes in. i don't think that should be done in the way the government has done it which is simply, their only plan for growth this migration. they've got to explain that and be honest to the public about what their plan for growth really is. earlier, i spoke to our chief political correspondent henry zeffman in westminister. he told me the budget didn't present any surprises. actually, the biggest announcement was known the evening before, let alone after the budget. conservative mps were in the house of commons waiting for something that would be a big surprise, often in westminster known as the rabbit out of a hat, but actually the biggest announcement was the 2% cut in the rate of national insurance, the tax paid by those in employment, which had leaked the day before. so it had a sort of slightly odd political landing, the budget, because it became kind of a bit of a flat one for conservative mps. i'm emphasising conservative mps because the budget is of course a big economic event for people up and down the uk, but it is also, especially in a general election year, a political event. and some conservatives wanted jeremy hunt not to cut national insurance but cut income tax because that is paid by a wider range of people including pensioners, who are a big part of the conservative electoral coalition. i think the reception on the conservative side has been reasonably well welcomed but certainly not rapturously welcomed. 0n the other side, the labour side, they say that the tax cuts jeremy hunt has offered are completely dwarfed by what's known as fiscal drag, the fact that lots of people have been dragged into higher rates of tax by inflation because the thresholds have not moved up with inflation. we talk about the fact an election is expected this year. how do you think that budget could potentially affect what voters will think? because i guess those are the ones that the conservative party is hoping will stick with them. of course they are. jeremy hunt tried to cast the budget as a sign that britain was at a turning point, that after not just the covid pandemic but also the economic problems caused by the russian invasion of ukraine, that things are starting to improve, that inflation is starting to come down and the forecasts published alongside the budget suggested it is coming down, that growth is starting to nudge up. but i think the big political question forjeremy hunt, rishi sunak, the government and conservative party heading into the election, whenever it comes, is do the british public really feel like a corner has been turned? do they feel like this is a turning point? because i think that rhetoric works for the government only if the public feels it reflects their experiences. if they feel that actually things are still very tough, they are still struggling with the cost of living, with inflation, with living standards and flatlining wages, then there is a political risk for the government, for the conservative party, that they simply look out of touch. coming up for viewers in the uk, your questions answered about what the chancellor's budget means for you, yourfamily and businesses across the country. at 12:30 we'll be joined by a number of experts — including the personal finance and tax expert holly mackay from boring money — to answer your questions live. so get in touch using the hashtag #bbcyourquestions — or email yourquestions@bbc.co.uk. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news here in the uk. a committee of mps has concluded that the post office is not fit to run the compensation schemes for sub postmasters wrongly convicted because of the horizon it scandal. the business and trade committee said it was a disgrace that 80% of the money for redress payments still hadn't been spent. the high court says an afghan judge who's been forced to go into hiding from the taliban was wrongly refused relocation to the uk. the anonymous claimant prosecuted taliban and islamic state group members — and has since avoided an assassination attempt. the uk government argued he hadn't worked closely enough with the uk in afghanistan to qualify for relocation. metropolitan police officers have travelled to trinidad to speak to the killer of muriel mckay in a bid to find her body. ms mckay was abducted in 1969, mistaken for the then wife of rupert murdoch, and held to ransom for £1 million. one of her killers recently admitted to burying her body behind a barn. you're live with bbc news. the indian prime minister, narendra modi has held a rally in indian—administrated kashmir. it's his first visit to the muslim—majority region in five years, since the region was stripped of its special status. mr modi has told people in the disputed region of kashmir that taking away its autonomous status has paved the way for economic growth. the visit comes ahead of india's national election, due to be held by may. vehicles moving in and out of kashmir�*s largest city srinagar are being checked, with thousands of extra security forces deployed across the region. ahead of mr modi's visit, the streets of srinagar were cleaned and welcoming posters put up. the armourer on the set of the alec baldwin movie rust, in which a cinematographer was shot dead in 2021, has been convicted of involuntary manslaughter. a new mexico jury found hannah gutierrez—reed guilty of the death of halyna hutchins. 0ur west coast correspondent emma vardy reports from los angeles. this was the scene on a ranch in new mexico after a rehearsal for the western movie rust went terribly wrong. alec baldwin was the actor on set that pulled the trigger? alec baldwin? yes, sir. where's he at? a talented cinematographer, halyna hutchins, had been shot dead after the gun alec baldwin was rehearsing with fired a live round. the prosecution said the armourer on set, hannah gutierrez—reed, had mixed up dummy rounds meant to look like the real thing with live rounds that belonged to her personally, and that other live bullets had been found dotted around the set. they argued hannah gutierrez didn't carry out the right safety checks that would have detected the fact a live bullet had been mistakenly loaded into the gun. afterjust a few hours of deliberation a jury found her guilty of involuntary manslaughter. we find the defendant, hannah gutierrez, guilty of involuntary manslaughter as charged in count one. what happened here at the bonanza creek ranch has now changed the approach to gun safety in the movie industry to try to make sure such a tragedy never happens again. while real guns are still used, increasingly directors are opting for digital effects in post—production to simulate gunfire. were you in the room when that lady, when someone was... i was holding the gun, yeah. 0k. alec baldwin is due to stand trial in july also accused of involuntary manslaughter. he claims he never pulled the trigger, but prosecutors will argue he, too, did not follow basic safety rules when handling the weapon. emma vardy, bbc news, new mexico. the un has condemned the mass abduction of dozens of displaced persons in north—east nigeria by suspected boko haram fighters in the borno state. it is not yet clear how many people are missing, or exactly when they were taken. some local media reports say more than 300 people were abducted, most of them women and girls, but this has not been independently confirmed. over the past 15 years, islamist insurgents have carried out frequent attacks and mass abductions in north—east nigeria, displacing two million people. 0ur news oui’ news correspondence 0ur news correspondence sent this latest. what is emerging now from the statements issued by the united nations office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs in nigeria, is at least 200 internally displaced people, living in a camp may have been abducted. according to the statement, these id peas had gone out of their camps, in search of firewood, they wanted to sell this word in otherfor firewood, they wanted to sell this word in other for whatever food was given by the government in order to survive. 0f given by the government in order to survive. of course, nigeria is currently facing a huge cost of living crisis. so, at the moment, what that meant that it appeared that authorities in borno state and indeed nigeria were not really keen to let the public know because the incident actually happened on thursday last week, but itjust emerged yesterday, when inquiries over the whereabouts of the id peas came to the fore. in april 2014 boko haram militants invaded the school and the said 276 girls from their dormitory. as we speak, about 100 of those girls are still missing, never been found. these recent abductions and dove reminds nigeria of the horror and trauma of that incident from about ten years ago. many people are worried and concerned about how a large number of people could be taken within the forest in the bush without attracting attention. at the moment, apart from the fact that the state government said that they deployed emergency response team to the area, they have to say just what their situation is at the moment and if they have heard anything about the idps that are still in captivity. you anything about the idps that are still in captivity.— still in captivity. you can follow the latest _ still in captivity. you can follow the latest on _ still in captivity. you can follow the latest on that _ still in captivity. you can follow the latest on that story - still in captivity. you can follow the latest on that story on - still in captivity. you can follow the latest on that story on our| the latest on that story on our website. before we go, we want to share one of the most—read stories on our website, involving dogs and diets. scientists in the uk say that a genetic mutation makes some labradors and flat—coated retrievers constantly hungry while burning fewer calories. the so—called "double whammy" effect means dog owners must pay special attention to keeping their pets slim attention to keeping their pets slim. stay with us here on bbc news. hello again. in the last couple of days, we've started with some mist and fog, and some dense mist and fog patches at that. but in the next few days it won't be such an issue because it's turning windier. we will also see the sunniest conditions in the west, but it's going to be fairly cloudy at times with some scattered showers. high pressure is still anchored across scandinavia, effectively keeping weather fronts at bay in the atlantic. so what we have today is still quite a lot of cloud, especially in eastern and central areas, producing some drizzle in eastern scotland, showers developing across the south—east, the midlands, central southern england, and also wales. and a blustery day with temperatures 7 to about 11 or 12 degrees. heading on into the evening and overnight period, once again we hang onto all this cloud. the showers will push that bit further north. they could be wintry above 400 metres or so in scotland. there will be some clear skies but it's still going to be windy, so we are not anticipating those issues with mist or fog, and temperatures falling away to between 2 and about 5 degrees. so then, for tomorrow, the high pressure drifts a bit further north across scandinavia. we've got this weather front trying to get into the south—west, isobars alone tell you it's going to be a windy day, windier than today. so we are looking at some brighter conditions across southern england and wales, with some sunshine coming through. a bit more cloud at times across the north of the country. gusty winds, as represented by the black circles. and by the end of the day the cloud will be thickening in the south—west and after dark we'll start to see some rain come in here. temperatures, 6 to about 11 degrees north to south. heading on then from friday into saturday, this low pressure does start to penetrate the south—west. we'll see the weather front travel a little bit further north, bringing in some rain during the course of saturday, which is going to be a generally cloudy day. it's also going to be a windy day. the best sunshine in the north—west, but at times we'll see holes in that cloud travelling northwards, but they will be filled once again with some cloud right behind them. so, moving on through the weekend, saturday into sunday, we say goodbye to that weather front, and then you can see the isobars open out a touch, so it's still going to be windy at times as we head into the early part of the new week. and certainly on sunday and monday it will be fairly cloudy. but high pressure starts to build in on tuesday. lufthansa hit by strike action, as it reports a big jump in profits. will they or won't they? pressure on the ecb to cut the cost of borrowing. welcome to world business report. i'm egon cossou. it's very much a case of good news, bad news for the german airline lufthansa. it more than doubled its net profit last year, raking in 1.6 billion euros — around $1.8 billion. but it's given a gloomy forecast for this year, because of its continuing wrangle with the unions. ground staff are going on strike today, affecting around 200,000 passengers, and pilots are also walking out at a later date. joining me now is simon calder, travel writer at the independent. you were in berlin yesterday seeing the kiosk unfold. yes i was in burlington airport last night. it was busy. that was because the worlds biggest travel trade fair is taking place. it has tens of thousands of people coming in from across the world. although it is operating today, none of the trains are, or very few are running in germany, and even if you get to an airport your problems are onlyjust beginning because this massive strike across lufthansa through