The Guardian view on the hottest September: the climate must be prioritised | Editorial

Floods, fires and record-breaking heat demand a response from politicians, as well as Pope Francis

Another month of smashed temperature records has left scientists searching for words with which to describe what is happening. Gobsmackingly bananas" was the phrase alighted on by Zeke Hausfather of the Berkeley Earth climate data project. This was the hottest September on record, following the hottest August and the hottest July. It beat the previous September record by 0.5C, the largest jump in temperature ever seen.

In the UK, where the summer was wet and many people have enjoyed unseasonably warm early autumn days, the disruption has not been anything like as destructive as elsewhere. But floods, fires and exceptionally high temperatures are becoming more and more frequent - with the overflow of Lhonak Lake in India, and the wildfires and baking heat in Tenerife among the latest emergencies.