The year 2024 was the hottest on record, a spokesperson for the World Meteorological Organisation said ahead of the release later on Friday of a comprehensive report incorporating the findings of several regional climate monitoring institutes.

The findings, due to be released at 5 p.m. Geneva time (1600 GMT) will collate findings of meteorological observatories in Britain, China, the EU and the U.S., WMO spokesperson Clare Nullis said.

"The WMO will later today confirm that 2024 was the hottest year on record," she told a news conference in Geneva.

"We saw extraordinary land and sea surface temperatures, extraordinary ocean heat, accompanied by very extreme weather affecting many countries around the world, destroying lives, livelihoods, hopes and dreams," she added.