‘The forecast for 2019 would place next year amongst the five warmest years on record, which would all have occurred since 2015’
Near-record high temperatures will hit around the world in 2019, Met Office scientists have predicted.
The average global temperature next year is expected to be around 1.1C above pre-industrial levels, bringing it close to the record-breaking heat seen in 2016 when temperatures peaked at 1.15C above the 1850-1900 period used as a baseline for global warming.
The rise will be the result of human-driven climate change combined with modest warming from the El Nino weather phenomenon in the Pacific, which pushes up temperatures further, the scientists said.
Forecasts issued by the Met Office at the end of 2017 for global temperatures this year were closely in line with what has been seen in 2018.
Then they predicted around 1C of warming, and estimates for January to October are showing temperatures around 0.96C above pre-industrial levels.
Climate talks extended as US and other polluters hold up agreement
The predictions of a close-to-record hot year is the latest in the warming trend the world has seen in recent years.
Professor Adam Scaife, head of long-range prediction at the Met Office, said: “Our forecasts suggest that, by the end of 2019, 19 of the 20 warmest years on record will have occurred since the year 2000.”
Dr Doug Smith, Met Office research fellow, added: “The forecast for 2019 would place next year amongst the five warmest years on record, which would all have occurred since 2015. All of these years have been around 1C warmer than the pre-industrial period.”
Read more: Independent