Past five years were the hottest ever, says climate report

Guardian : Not only has the period 2011–15 seen the highest global average temperatures ever recorded, it has also been the warmest on record for every individual continent except Africa, according to a recent World Meteorological Organization (WMO) climate report . And 2015 is set to be the hottest single year ever. The reason is twofold: human-caused global warming and a strong El Niño. Besides more heat waves, climate change is expected to bring increased risk of other extreme weather events, including floods, droughts, tornadoes, tropical storms, and even extreme cold and snow in certain areas. The WMO report says that the most significant event during the 2011–15 time frame in humanitarian terms was the 2011–12 famine in the Horn of Africa, which was caused by drought and killed more than 250 000 people. The report comes less than a week before the start of the United Nations climate change conference in Paris, which begins on 30 November.