EARTH’S average temperature remained at a record high on Wednesday, after two days in which the planet reached unofficial records, the latest marker in a series of climate-change-driven extremes.

The average global temperature was 17.18°C, according to the University of Maine's climate reanalyser, a tool that uses satellite data and computer simulations to measure the world’s condition. 

That matched a record set on Tuesday of 17.18°C, and came after a previous record of 17.01°C was set on Monday.

Scientists have warned for months that 2023 could see record heat as human-caused climate change, driven largely by the burning of fossil fuels like coal, natural gas and oil, warmed the atmosphere. 

They also noted that La Nina, the natural cooling of the ocean that had acted as a counter to that warming, was giving way to El Nino, the reverse phenomenon marked by warming oceans. 

The North Atlantic has seen record warmth this year.

Stanford University climate scientist Chris Field said: “A record like this is another piece of evidence for the now massively supported proposition that global warming is pushing us into a hotter future.” 

This comes as the 7th United Nations Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health in Budapest heard a warning from World Health Organisation (WHO) regional director for Europe Dr Hans Kluge on Wednesday that the “triple threat” of climate change, pollution and loss of biodiversity to health must be urgently addressed.

Dr Kluge told the conference that an estimated 1.4 million deaths annually in the European region can be attributed to environmental risk factors, with nearly half caused by air pollution.

Dr Kluge said last summer was “the hottest ever recorded in Europe,” and extreme heat caused the deaths of more than 20,000 people. 

He said: “We are moving far too slowly, seriously jeopardising our ability to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.”

He added that 77 million people in Europe still lack access to safe drinking water.

“Action needs to be taken by governments. Action needs to be taken by partners. Action needs to be taken by all of us as individuals,” Dr Kluge said.

Dr Kluge told the conference that the December Cop28 summit needed to make serious joint commitments for climate action.

He said: “We need to work together, both as a region and globally, to take the necessary environmental actions for healthier populations, a thriving planet and a sustainable future.”