The Earth is so hot this year that a limit for global warming agreed upon by world leaders at a climate summit in Paris just a few months ago is in danger of being breached.
In December, almost 200 nations agreed on a radical shift away from fossil fuels with a goal of limiting a rise in average global temperatures to well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times while "pursuing efforts" for 1.5 C (2.7 F).
But 2016 is on track to be the hottest year on record, also buoyed by a natural El Nino event warming the Pacific, according to the U.N.'s World Meteorological Organization. The first six months were a sweltering 1.3 C above pre-industrial times.