February breaks global temperature records by 'shocking' amount

Warnings of climate emergency after surface temperatures 1.35C warmer than average temperature for the month

Global temperatures in February smashed previous monthly records by an unprecedented amount, according to Nasa data, sparking warnings of a climate emergency.

The result was "a true shocker, and yet another reminder of the incessant long-term rise in global temperature resulting from human-produced greenhouse gases", wrote Jeff Masters and Bob Henson in a blog on the Weather Underground, which analysed the data released on Saturday.