Why is 2016 smashing heat records?

January and February have both broken temperature records. Karl Mathiesen examines how much is down to El Nino versus manmade climate change

Yet another global heat record has been beaten. It appears January 2016 - the most abnormally hot month in history, according to Nasa - will be comprehensively trounced once official figures come in for February.

Initial satellite measurements, compiled by Eric Holthaus at Slate, put February's anomaly from the pre-industrial average between 1.15C and 1.4C. The UN Paris climate agreement struck in December seeks to limit warming to 1.5C if possible.