This year is set to be the hottest year ever recorded globally, beating records set just last year, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) have said.

The WMO said this year would be the warmest since records began, in the late 19th century, with average surface temperatures 1.2C above pre-industrial times.

Global temperatures this year are approximately 1.2C higher than pre-industrial levels and 0.88C higher than the average for 1961-1990 (the period the WMO uses as a reference), provisional figures show.

As a result, 2016 is on track to be the hottest year in records dating back to the 19th century – with 16 of the 17 hottest years on record having occurred in the 21st century.

The heat has impacted natural wonders such as the melting Greenland ice and damage to Australia's Great Barrier Reef. 

Data from the UN refugee agency has stated that 19.2 million people were displaced by weather, water, climate and hazards such as earthquakes in 2015 - that's more than twice as many as for conflict and violence.

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