The fact that the central figure has exceeded 1.0°C since 2015 masks the considerable international variation, explained one of the leading experts in climate prediction, Doug Smith, who added that in some places, such as the Arctic, temperatures have risen several degrees since pre-industrial times.

According to the head of Long Range Forecasting at the British Met Office, Professor Adam Scaife, the predicted temperature illustrates that the increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is now warming the planet at an exponential rate.

This makes that the El Niño years in the late 1990s were colder compared to the results of La Niña two decades later, he added.

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