(Bloomberg) -- April was the Earth’s 11th consecutive month of record-breaking heat, with warmer weather already sweeping across Asia and a hotter-than-usual summer expected in Europe.

The European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service said last month’s temperatures globally were 1.58C (2.8F) above historical averages and marked the hottest April on record. The past 12 months have been 1.61C higher than pre-industrial temperatures, exceeding the 1.5C threshold that policymakers and scientists say could threaten life on the planet. 

“Whilst temperature variations associated with natural cycles like El Niño come and go, the extra energy trapped into the ocean and the atmosphere by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases will keep pushing the global temperature towards new records,” Copernicus Director Carlo Buontempo said in a statement.

Temperatures across Europe are expected to climb into the weekend with the UK’s Met Office forecasting highs of 26C in parts of England. The Nordics are also warming up, with Oslo forecast to reach a high of 23C on May 14, hotter than Madrid, according to Weather Services International.

The Copernicus program —  the world’s biggest provider of climate data — uses billions of measurements from satellites, ships, aircraft and weather stations around the world for its monthly and seasonal forecasts.

• German wind output is forecast to peak at 5,681MW at 11 p.m. CET on Thursday, compared with a high of 5,244MW at 1:15 a.m. on Wednesday: Bloomberg model. A record of 53,022MW was set on Dec. 21, 2023: EEX
• German solar output on Thursday is seen peaking at 35,730MW at 1 pm CET, compared with a high of 26,515MW at 2 pm on Wednesday: Bloomberg model. A record of 41,791MW was set on April 30: EEX

How Scientists Link Climate Change to Extreme Weather: QuickTake

(Updates with European weather forecast from fourth paragraph and adds charts)

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