Global average temperatures from January to September were 1.4 degrees Celsius higher than pre-industrial times, almost breaching a key goal of the 2015 Paris Agreement, the EU climate monitor said on Thursday.

This year has "the dubious honor of first place -- on track to be the warmest year and around 1.4C above pre-industrial average temperatures", said Samantha Burgess, deputy director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service.