Last month was the second warmest April on record, according to Nasa.

The global temperature was 0.88 degrees Celsius above the average for the month from 1951 to 1980, behind last year’s record figure of 1.06C warmer.

A map of the world of the difference in temperatures showed strong warming of up to 5C in north-western Canada and Alaska and much of Siberia. Northern China and Mongolia also experienced much higher temperatures than usual.

The few places in the world that were cooler included much of the Antarctic, parts of south-east Asia and north-east Canada.

In a statement on its website, Nasa’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies said: “April 2017 was the second warmest April in 137 years of modern record-keeping.

“Last month was 0.88 degrees Celsius warmer than the mean April temperature from 1951-1980. The two top April temperature anomalies have occurred during the past two years.

“April 2016 was the hottest on record, at 1.06 degrees Celsius warmer than the April mean temperature.

“This past April was only slightly warmer than the third warmest April, which occurred in 2010 and was 0.87 degrees warmer than the mean.”

The data was produced using temperature readings from 6,300 meteorological stations around the world, Antarctic research stations and instruments on ships and buoys in the sea. The information is publicly available.

10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Show all 10 1 /10 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A group of emperor penguins face a crack in the sea ice, near McMurdo Station, Antarctica Kira Morris 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Floods destroyed eight bridges and ruined crops such as wheat, maize and peas in the Karimabad valley in northern Pakistan, a mountainous region with many glaciers. In many parts of the world, glaciers have been in retreat, creating dangerously large lakes that can cause devastating flooding when the banks break. Climate change can also increase rainfall in some areas, while bringing drought to others. Hira Ali 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Smoke – filled with the carbon that is driving climate change – drifts across a field in Colombia. Sandra Rondon 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Amid a flood in Islampur, Jamalpur, Bangladesh, a woman on a raft searches for somewhere dry to take shelter. Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable places in the world to sea level rise, which is expected to make tens of millions of people homeless by 2050. Probal Rashid 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Sindh province in Pakistan has experienced a grim mix of two consequences of climate change. “Because of climate change either we have floods or not enough water to irrigate our crop and feed our animals,” says the photographer. “Picture clearly indicates that the extreme drought makes wide cracks in clay. Crops are very difficult to grow.” Rizwan Dharejo 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Hanna Petursdottir examines a cave inside the Svinafellsjokull glacier in Iceland, which she said had been growing rapidly. Since 2000, the size of glaciers on Iceland has reduced by 12 per cent. Tom Schifanella 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A river once flowed along the depression in the dry earth of this part of Bangladesh, but it has disappeared amid rising temperatures. Abrar Hossain 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A shepherd moves his herd as he looks for green pasture near the village of Sirohi in Rajasthan, northern India. The region has been badly affected by heatwaves and drought, making local people nervous about further predicted increases in temperature. Riddhima Singh Bhati 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A factory in China is shrouded by a haze of air pollution. The World Health Organisation has warned such pollution, much of which is from the fossil fuels that cause climate change, is a “public health emergency”. Leung Ka Wa 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Water levels in reservoirs, like this one in Gers, France, have been getting perilously low in areas across the world affected by drought, forcing authorities to introduce water restrictions. Mahtuf Ikhsan

“The modern global temperature record begins around 1880 because previous observations didn't cover enough of the planet,” Nasa said.

It cautioned: “Monthly analyses are sometimes updated when additional data becomes available, and the results are subject to change.”

Dr Chris Huntingford, a climate modeller at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, said: “Many people don't believe the climate models or the statistics, but you have to believe what's in front of you.

“Over and over again we are directly measuring temperatures matching or exceeding those previously recorded. Put simply, the climate change signal is becoming ever more obvious.

“At what point do things become dangerous if the planet continues along this warming pathway? And are mechanisms in place to slow or stall the emerging trend? We are in potentially risky and unchartered territory here.”

Professor Piers Forster, a climatologist at Leeds University, said: “We need to be very careful reading too much into a hot month. The important evidence for climate change is the long-term upward trend – and we are certainly seeing that.

“Scientists or campaigners jumping up and down when a record is broken will only backfire and get climate scientists accused of making false predictions if next April is cooler – it may be cooler or warmer next year, but it doesn't really matter because overall, temperatures are rising.