The world just experienced its joint-hottest month since records began, with August pushing the planet's average global temperature to more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels. The European climate service Copernicus said the Earth just sweltered through its hottest month on record in August. Key points and original sources are listed below.

• The world just experienced its joint-hottest month since records began, with August pushing the planet's average global temperature to more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels.S1

• The European climate service Copernicus said the Earth just sweltered through its hottest month on record in August. Scientists said the heat surge is mostly due to human-caused climate change.S2

• Heatwaves in August continued a run of extreme heat that began in May.S3