AFP/Miami
Rising temperatures across the planet have set another new record, as the US government announced on Friday that the globe experienced its hottest month of March since record-keeping began in 1880.
The period of January to March was also the warmest on record, said the monthly report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The figures take into account global averages across land and sea surfaces.
For March, the average global temperature was 1.53 Fahrenheit (0.85 Celsius) above the 20th century average.
"This was the highest for March in the 1880-2015 record, surpassing the previous record of 2010 by 0.09 F (0.05 C)," said the report.
For the first three months of the year, the average temperature worldwide was 1.48 Fahrenheit (0.82 Celsius) above the 20th century average.
That marked the highest ever recorded for that period, surpassing the previous record in 2002 by 0.09 F.
