Jan fifth hottest on record despite cold snap

PARIS, Feb 10 (AFP): The planet experienced its fifth-hottest January on record despite a cold snap that swept across the United States and Europe, the EU's climate monitor said Tuesday.

The Northern Hemisphere was hit by severe cold waves in the final weeks of January as a polar jet stream blew icy air into Europe and North America, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service. But monthly temperatures were above average over much of the globe, including in large parts of the Arctic and western North America, according to Copernicus.