Last year was the second-hottest year since records began, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said, adding that heat was likely to lead to more extreme weather events like the Australian bushfires in 2020 and beyond.
The figures from the Geneva-based WMO crunches several datasets including from NASA and the UK Met Office.
It showed that the average global temperature in 2019 was 1.1 degree Celsius (34 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels, creeping towards a globally agreed limit after which major changes to life on Earth are expected.
Scientists, such as Omar Baddour, say climate change likely contributed to severe weather in 2019 such as a heatwave in Europe and Hurricane Dorian which killed at least 50 people when it barreled through the Bahamas in September.
