Last week, the Met Office released provisional full-year figures for global average temperatures, which, as predicted late last year, reveal that 2015 was the warmest year on record.

Data from the University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit and the Met Office Hadley Centre has revealed that 2015 was the warmest on a record dating back to 1850.

Figures released last week suggest that average near-surface temperatures last year were 0.75˚C above the long-term average (1961-1990) and 1°C above pre-industrial temperatures. World leaders meeting in Paris last year committed to ensuring global warming remains below 2˚C. Meteorologists from the University of East Anglia, who worked with the Met Office to produce the figures, said, “The 1˚C rise above pre-industrial levels [which happened for the first time in 2015] represents a particularly important marker as the world continues to warm due to human influence.”

The 2015 average temperature was at the top end of meteorologists’ predictions for the year  

Prof Phil Jones, from UEA commented, “2015 was the warmest on record – and significantly warmer than all other years. Based on temperature data from the last major El Nino event in 1997/8, we predict that 2016 will likely be warmer still. This is because 2015 is analogous in its increasing warmth through the year to 1997.”

This week Scottish forecasters said record January temperatures may have been recorded in the past few days, though this will need to be confirmed.