2021 was fifth hottest year on record

New Delhi, Jan 11: The year 2021 was the fifth hottest year on record, scientists from Europe said. The annual average temperature was 1.1 to 1.2 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels measured between 1850 and 1900, the Copernicus Climate Change Service said.

This was despite the cooling effect of the natural La Niña weather phenomenon and the C3S found that the last seven years have been the warmest years on record by a clear margin. 2020 and 2016 were the hottest years on record.

The levels of planet warming gases such as carbon dioxide and methane increased with no sign of a slowdown. Methane is the gas most responsible for global warming after CO2.

CS3 said that last summer was Europe's hottest on record. In July and August a Mediterranean heatwave stoked intense wildfires in countries including Greece and Turkey.