Independent News -- World records its second warmest year

Meteorologists revealed yesterday that the world had measured its second warmest year since records began more than 140 years ago.

Average global temperatures have risen by more than 0.6 degrees since 1860, and scientists blame warming over the past 50 years on human activity such as burning fossil fuels.

Global warming is expected to cause a rise in sea levels due to the thermal expansion of the oceans, melting glaciers and a disturbance of weather patterns leading in Britain to drier summers and wetter winters.