Global temperatures in the first half of the year were the hottest since records began more than a century ago, according to two of the world's leading climate research centres.

Scientists have also released what they describe as the "best evidence yet" of rising long-term temperatures. The report is the first to collate 11 different indicators – from air and sea temperatures to melting ice – each one based on between three and seven data sets, dating back to between 1850 and the 1970s.

The newly released data follows months of scrutiny of climate science after sceptics claimed that leaked emails from the University of East Anglia (UEA) suggested temperature records had been manipulated - a charge rejected by three inquiries.

Publishing the newly collated data in London, Peter Stott, head of climate modelling at the UK Met Office, said that despite variations between individual years, the evidence was unequivocal: "When you follow those decade-to-decade trends, you see clearly and unmistakably signs of a warming world.

(BusinessGreen)

Read more