Temperature
The Met Office has also just issued its first ever red heat warning over the weather.
Thousands of sea turtles cold-stunned by the plunge in temperatures have been washing up on the beaches of South Padre Island, off the southern coast of Texas. Volunteers have brought over 4,700 of them to a convention centre, where they are being kept in tubs and enclosures before they can be released when the water is warmer.
Temperatures in Scotland plunged to their coldest level in 25 years – but "weather is not the same as climate".
The year rounds off the hottest decade ever recorded globally.
The mercury could once again rise to 35C on Sunday in some parts of the UK.
Forecasters have warned that temperatures could beat the 37.8C recorded at Heathrow in July.
On Wednesday the temperature in London and the South East could surpass the 26C recorded in Treknow, Cornwall, on Good Friday.
This is a change from last month when meteorologists confirmed that a new UK maximum temperature record for December was set in the Highlands.
The mercury rose to an "exceptional" 16.8C.
As Extinction Rebellion begin two weeks of international protest, weather data from across the globe reveals a worrying picture.