The month of October has been exceptionally warm globally, and the EU's climate monitoring service points to the month as the warmest October on record, in a dataset of measurements dating back to 1940.
The average temperature on land in October this year was 15.3 degrees Celsius on average, which is 0.4 degrees warmer than the previous record in 2019.
"There are completely exceptional deviations in average temperature this month, just like in September. We see that we are heading for the warmest year on record," says Samantha Burgess.
Global Ocean Temperature Records
The average global ocean temperature also broke records in October, and the sea ice around Antarctica was at a record low during the period, for the sixth month in a row.
"We are also entering the southern hemisphere's summer months, and have an El Niño with warmer oceans than normal. All in all, this means that we see it getting even warmer into 2024 as well.
More extreme weather events
Samantha Burgess is now warning of more extreme storms and floods, and more heat, droughts and wildfires – extreme weather events that many in the world have already experienced this year.
"We know it's going to happen. Not exactly where, but temperatures this warm are causing those events to increase. We really need ambitious climate plans now to curb global warming. And every tenth of a degree makes a difference.
Listen in the clip above to see what signs Samantha Burgess sees that global warming is happening faster than expected.