February on course to break unprecedented number of heat records

Rapid ocean warming and unusually hot winter days recorded as human-made global heating combines with El Nino

February is on course to break a record number of heat records, meteorologists say, as human-made global heating and the natural El Nino climate pattern drive up temperatures on land and oceans around the world.

A little over halfway into the shortest month of the year, the heating spike has become so pronounced that climate charts are entering new territory, particularly for sea-surface temperatures that have persisted and accelerated to the point where expert observers are struggling to explain how the change is happening.