2018 was fourth hottest yr on record

The last four years have been the world's hottest since record-keeping began, with 2018 the fourth warmest on record, according to data published Thursday by US research group Berkeley Earth. Temperatures in 2018 were around 1.16 degrees Celsius above the average temperature of the second half of the 19th century. "Global mean temperature in 2018 was colder than 2015, 2016, and 2017, but warmer than every previously observed year prior to 2015," the report said.