The World Meteoro- logical Organisation, a UN agency, said that the average temperature is expected to be 0.5C higher than normal, making it second only to 1998 as the warmest year since records began in 1860.

Overall, nine out of the ten hottest years have been since 1990 as global warming has accelerated. Environmentalists gave a warning that the figures showed that far more needed to be done to tackle climate change.

The heating over land has been more pronounced than over sea, and over-land temperature this year was the highest yet recorded.

The figures show that for the UK, 2002 will prove to be the fourth warmest year since records began in 1659. An unusually warm spring pushed up the annual average temperature to 10.5C (50.9F), which has been exceeded only in 1949, 1990 and 1999.

David Parker, the Met Office’s climate scientist, said: “Five of the six warmest years since 1659 have occurred since 1990. However, this year is unlikely to be the warmest ever because temperatures would have to be more than 2 degrees higher than normal for the remainder of the year.”

Global warming has been associated with more storms, and higher levels of rainfall. In Central Europe heavy rains led to unprecedented flooding of the Elbe and Danube rivers, killing 100 people.

Twice the usual number of storms hit the US this year, and in September there were more tropical storms in the Atlantic basin than any other month on record.

Britain had above average rainfall, with February, October and November being notably wet months. Eastern Scotland had its second wettest October on record, while there were floods in north-eastern England after 61 mm of rain fell in one day, setting a record for the region.

The Met Office forecast yesterday that 2003 will be the world’s hottest recorded year.

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