The past seven years have been the seven warmest on record and 2021 was the fifth hottest, according to new data released by a leading climate change authority.

The Copernicus Climate Change Service report also showed the world has already warmed between 1.1 and 1.3 degrees above pre-industrial levels, confirming the analysis published by the United Nations’ chief climate body last year.

It found the high temperatures came despite the La Nina weather pattern which caused below average temperatures in Australia, parts of Siberia and the central and eastern Pacific.

A preliminary study of satellite data by Copernicus, which provides climate data to the European Union, found that greenhouse gas emissions continued to rise despite the economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Carbon dioxide levels reached an annual global record of approximately 414 parts per million and methane an annual record of approximately 1876 parts per billion.

Carbon emissions from wildfires worldwide amounted overall to 1850 megatonnes, especially fuelled by fires in Siberia, Copernicus found.

“This confirms what we already know. The IPCC sixth assessment reported a 1.2C increase by 2020. This EU data provides further confirmation the earth is warming at an increasing rate,” said Professor Will Steffen, a climate expert and councillor with the Climate Council in response to the findings.

“It’s a common misconception that the pandemic has caused a significant drop in emissions, it’s simply not true. [There] was in fact a small drop but rebounded very strongly in 2021 and nearly reached pre-pandemic levels in only 12 months.