El Niño

The warning comes as cuts to American research raise fears over the ability to track and prepare for them.

January was expected to be cooler than the same month last year, but was 0.1C warmer, which experts are struggling to explain.

The record rise is incompatible with keeping global warming to 1.5C according to the Met Office.

Last year was the world's warmest on record, bringing temperatures above a politically symbolic milestone.

It is also set to be the world's first breach of 1.5C of warming across an entire calendar year.

Every single day of the past 12 months has seen a new global sea temperature high for the time of year.

The prime minister warns that El Niño-triggered heavy rains are likely to continue into May.

East Africa is being pounded by unusually heavy rains linked to a combination of global weather events.