The EU's climate monitor on Wednesday said last month was the hottest April on record and the 11th consecutive month of historic global heat.

Oceans were also overheating with April marking the 13th straight monthly high for sea surface temperatures, according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).

Each month since June 2023 has ranked as the planet's hottest on record, compared with the corresponding month in previous years, the C3S said in a monthly bulletin.

Including April, the world's average temperature was the highest on record for a 12-month period - 1.61 degrees Celsius above the average in the 1850-1900 pre-industrial period.

Some of the extremes - including months of record breaking sea surface temperatures - have led scientists to investigate whether human activity has now triggered a tipping point in the climate system.

"I think many scientists have asked the question whether there could be a shift in the climate system," said Julien Nicolas, C3S Senior Climate Scientist.

Still, the EU's climate monitor also said the natural El Nino phenomenon which warms the Pacific Ocean and contributes to hotter weather globally "continued to weaken" in April towards more "neutral conditions". (Reuters/AFP)