A warmer world

The official United Nations weather agency predicts that 2017 will be among the top three hottest years on average worldwide and will be the warmest year ever that was not influenced by the El Niño ocean warming in the Pacific.

The World Meteorological Organization says 2017 has been marked by heavier-thannormal rainfall in areas that include western China, southern South America and the contiguous United States.

The warmer global climate also brought lower-thanaverage coverage of the Arctic’s polar sea ice pack.

The prediction and analysis were released as world leaders began meeting for a U.N. climate change conference in Bonn, Germany.