Annual global temperatures were the fourth highest on record in 2018, with the world in the midst of its hottest decade since reliable data has been collected, international agencies say.

The past five years have been the hottest for land and sea-surface temperatures, and last year came in 0.79 degrees above the 20th-century average, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in its annual summary.

Global temperature rises could see more deadly fires – even in places not known for the heat, such as Bolton, England (pictured). Credit:PA

After setting record high temperatures every 13 years on average during the first 100 years of records running from 1880 to 1980, that pace has accelerated to one every three years since, NOAA said.

The UK Met Office, which also ranked 2018 as among its four hottest years, predicted that the warming trend will continue as greenhouse gases continue to accumulate in the atmosphere.