Laura Paddison reporting for CNN that the world has experienced the hottest summer on record – by a significant margin this year:

Global average ocean temperatures, too, have been off the charts, helping strengthen major hurricanes in the Atlantic and typhoons in the Pacific.

In July, a sudden marine heat wave off the coast of Florida saw the ocean reach “hot tub” temperatures. While in June, parts of the North Atlantic experienced a “totally unprecedented” marine heat wave with water temperatures up to 5 degrees Celsius (9 degrees Fahrenheit) hotter than usual.

Every single day from the end of July to the end of August has seen ocean temperatures exceed the previous record set in 2016, according to Copernicus.

Whether this year will end up being the planet’s warmest on record is not yet clear, but it looks certain to come extremely close.

[…]

Burgess said the summer had been one of tumbling records and it would only get worse if the world continues to burn planet-heating fossil fuels.

“The scientific evidence is overwhelming – we will continue to see more climate records and more intense and frequent extreme weather events impacting society and ecosystems, until we stop emitting greenhouse gases,” she said in a statement.