It was the warmest April on record – the eleventh month in a row of record global temperatures. Sea surface temperatures have been record high for the past 13 months. Extreme weather caused many casualties and socio-economic disruption.

The monthly reports from Copernicus Climate Change Service and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration highlight the extraordinary duration of record temperatures fuelled by the naturally occurring El Niño event and the additional energy trapped in the atmosphere and ocean by greenhouse gases from human activities. A similar streak happened previously during the strong El Niño event of 2015/2016.