Climate change: 2020 had second hottest August on record

This August was the second hottest on record according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Global temperatures reached almost one degree (0.94°C) above the 20th-century August average of 15.6°C.

Only August 2016 had a higher temperature, according to the NOAA's records, which date back to 1880.

August 2020 also marked the 428th month in a row to be above the 20th-century average.

The US scientific agency, which studies skies and oceans globally, found the Northern Hemisphere, which encompasses North America, the northern parts of South America, Europe, parts of Africa and Asia, had its warmest summer on record.

Meanwhile, the Southern Hemisphere's land and ocean surface, which is south of the equator, recorded temperatures for August 2020 that were the sixth highest on record at 0.67°C above average.

Some of the highest temperature averages were seen in North America, which experienced its warmest August on record, beating the previous record set in 2011.

The extreme weather has been blamed for sparking wildfires across Oregon, California and Washington.

Millions of acres of land and thousands of homes have been destroyed.

The destruction has forced thousands of people to flee their homes and some have lost their lives.

Earlier this year Australia experienced the worst bushfire season ever in 2019-2020 with fires blazing for months in large parts of the country.

Around 126,000 square kilometres of land and thousands of buildings were destroyed and at least 33 people died.

The record breaking temperatures are also having an impact on the world's glaciers.

According to data from NOAA and Nasa, analysed by the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), the August average Arctic sea ice mass was the third smallest on record at 29.4 percent below the 1981-2010 average.

Melting ice sheets have raised the global sea level by 1.8cm since the 1990s, matching 'worst-case' predictions according to scientists.

But, the Antarctic sea ice mass, during August 2020 was nearly normal at 6.83 million square miles, the highest it has been since 2016.

The planet's environment has changed dramatically since an era of history known as the Industrial Revolution when humans started building factories and machines to make lots of products quickly and cheaply. They was often powered by gas and coal.

The 10 warmest Augusts have all occurred since 1998 and the five warmest Augusts have occurred since 2015.

Scientists say many of the changes to the Earth's climate are caused by human activity - this means things that humans are doing.

Burning of oil, coal and gas - These resources are called fossil fuels - they are used to power factories, buildings and transportation. When burnt they release substances into the atmosphere, including a gas called carbon dioxide (CO2), which forms a layer which traps heat from the Sun and warms up the Earth's atmosphere. This is called the greenhouse effect.

Waste - The way waste is disposed of often adds to these harmful emissions. Even food waste creates another greenhouse gas called methane when it rots.

Deforestation and urbanisation - Urbanisation is when more people start living in cities, and deforestation is when a forest or tree-covered area is turned into something else (for example a farm or space for houses). Trees help us by absorbing carbon dioxide - but they release it back into the air again if they are burnt when they are cut down.

Population growth - This means the growing number of people in the world. In 1960 there were only around 3 billion people in the world, whereas there are currently more than 7 billion people who all need food to eat and places to live.