Global temperatures reach record highs in June.

Global temperatures have accelerated to record-setting levels this month, with preliminary global average temperatures taken so far in June nearly 1C above levels previously recorded for the same month. This follows a pattern of strengthening global heating that could see this year named the hottest ever recorded, topping 2016. The long-term warming conditions caused by the burning of fossil fuels will probably receive a further pulse of heat via El Niño, a naturally recurring phenomenon where sections of the Pacific Ocean heat up, typically causing temperatures to spike across the world.