last month, we brought you the news that for the first time, global warming had exceeded 1.5 celsius across an entire year. had exceeded 1.5 celsius that trend is now continuing, with new data showing that last month was the warmest february ever recorded. figures from the european union's climate service, reported global temperatures were 1.77 degrees celsius above pre industrial levels. it's the ninth month in a row that global temperatures have broken record highs. our climate editor justin rowlatt reports. spring begins when the magnolia trees bloom, according to cornish tradition. and spring came early in cornwall and the rest of europe this year. temperatures across the continent this february were almost 3 degrees above average.

the exceptional warm weather the world experienced last month did not surprise climate scientists. it coincides with a near—record increase in co2 concentrations in the atmosphere. the link between c02 and rising temperatures is well established and this year global temperatures got an extra boost thanks to el nino, which brings warmer water to the surface of parts of the tropical pacific. that explains why february was 1.77 degrees warmer than preindustrial temperatures, and why global average temperatures hit a record 1.55 degrees above preindustrial levels over the last 12 months. it means we have temporarily at least breached the 1.5 degrees threshold the world agreed to try and limit temperature rise to, to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. february 2024 was the warmest february on record globally, with an average temperature of 13.54 degrees, above the

1991—2020 temperature. while this is remarkable, because, for instance, it is a tenth of a degree warmer than the warmest previous february, which was 2016, it's not really surprising, because this has been the el nino year, where temperatures tend to be warmer than usual, and more importantly, we have seen over the last few decades a piling up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere which bring up the temperature of the entire planet. we all enjoy warm weather, especially after the downpours this winter, but we should worry when the seasons get out of whack. some plants and animals can struggle to survive. though scientists say urgent action to cut emissions can still slow warming. justin rowlatt, bbc news. earlier we spoke to dr ella gilbert who is a climate scientist with the british antarctic survey.

this comes as no surprise to anyone who has been paying attention. because as long as we continue to emit greenhouse gases, we are going to continue seeing these records falling. the last nine months have been the hottest on record for each of those months. i think that is almost certain to continue as we go into 202a. what happens if this continues, then, and we have this same conversation in a year where it has continued to increase each month? what are the implications of that? the problem is that every tenth of a degree, every fraction of a degree, means a tangible impact on ecosystems, it means a tangible impact on people's lives and livelihoods. and we are going to see more extreme events. heatwaves like we saw with a0 degrees in 2022. the floods, wildfires and droughts we saw in 2023. this is just going to be a flavour of what's to come and these impacts willjust continue to become more

exaggerated with continued emissions of greenhouse gases and continued warming. so whatever we do has to be to limit those kinds of effects, we have to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. we have to reduce the rate of temperature rise to protect ourselves from these kinds of damaging impacts. we heard injustin�*s report that it's an el nino year but is it human behaviour that's the main cause? el nino is giving an extra boost. typically el nino can add 0.2 degrees to an ongoing trend but the main driving factor under this is human activity. we saw temperatures were 1.77 degrees above average and that's an astronomical difference from what we would expect without climate change. there is no doubt that climate change is driven almost entirely by human activity. finally, do you think people going about their daily business kind of understand the implications of this, because potentially if they are seeing a bit

of a hotter summer for example, a bit more rain, are they actually understanding, do you think, the implications of this? i think people are starting to understand them. we are seeing more and more extreme events. i think nobody expected that crazy a0 degrees heat wave we saw in the uk a couple of years ago. people who were watching the news will have seen all the headlines about things like wild fires or floods, they may have experienced them themselves last year. these kind of things are happening more and more frequently so people are already feeling the impacts of climate change and it's not necessarily just about the averages or the general, gentle changes. it's more about the kind of extremes we are experiencing that have real huge impacts. here in the uk, the chancellor has cut national insurance contributions and raised the threshold for claiming child benefit in his last spring budget before the general election. jeremy hunt says the measures have been paid for by putting up taxes

on business class flights, vaping and smoking, but the office for budget responsibility warns the government could find it hard to balance the books. here's the chancellor talking to the bbc this morning. what i did yesterday was show how we are growing the economy, how our plan is working. and we are doing that partly because we are bringing down taxes. and the big divide in british politics, we've had to put up taxes, of course, because we wanted to support families in the pandemic and through the cost of living crisis. do we want those taxes to stay high? what conservatives say, is we look around the world and we see the economies that are growing the fastest, in north america, asia, are ones with lower taxes, the shadow chancellor rachel reeves told the bbc that jeremy hunt needs to explain "where the money is going to come from".

we need to be getting people back to work. that means getting our nhs waiting lists down, it means more targeted support. it means reforming the apprenticeship levies so businesses can get the workers with the skills they need to give young people the chance to build a career and build their skills. we need to be investing alongside business in the jobs and the industries of the future, in towns and cities around the uk, in industries like carbon capture, gigafactories for electric vehicles, floating offshore wind. earlier i spoke to our chief political correspondent henry zaffman in westminister. he told me the budget didnt present any surprises. actually the biggest announcement was known the evening before, let alone after the budget. conservative mps were in the house of commons waiting for something that would be a big surprise, often in westminster known as the rabbit out of a hat, but actually the biggest announcement was the 2% cut in the rate of national insurance, the tax paid by those in employment, which had leaked the day before. so it had a sort of slightly odd

political landing, the budget, because it became kind of a bit of a flat one for conservative mps. i'm emphasising conservative mps because the budget is of course a big economic event for people up and down the uk, but it is also, especially in a general election year, a political event. and some conservatives wanted jeremy hunt not to cut national national insurance but cut income tax because that is paid by a wider range of people including pensioners, who are a big part of the conservative electoral coalition. i think the reception on the conservative side has been reasonably well welcomed but certainly not rapturously welcome. 0n the other side, the labour side, they say that the tax cuts jeremy hunt has offered are completely dwarfed by what's known as fiscal drag, the fact that lots of people have been dragged into higher rates of tax by inflation because the thresholds have not moved up with inflation. we talk about the fact an election

is expected this year. how do you think that budget could potentially affect what voters will think? because i guess those are the ones that the conservative party is hoping will stick with them. of course they are. jeremy hunt tried to cast the budget as a sign that britain was at a turning point, that after not just the covid pandemic but also the economic problems caused by the russian invasion of ukraine, that things are starting to improve, that inflation is starting to come down and the forecasts published alongside the budget suggested it is coming down, that growth is starting to nudge up. but i think the big political question forjeremy hunt, rishi sunak, the government and conservative party heading into the election, whenever it comes, is do the british public really feel like a corner has been turned? do they feel like this is a turning point? because i think that rhetoric works for the government only if the public feels it

reflects their experiences. if they feel that actually things are still very tough, they are still struggling with the cost of living, with inflation, with living standards and flatlining wages, then there is a political risk for the government, for the conservative party, that they simply look out of touch. henry zeffman there. three crew members have been killed in a houthi missile strike on a liberian—owned cargo ship off southern yemen. it's the first deadly attack since the group began targeting international shipping last november. take a look at this footage that came in just a short while ago — dramatic images of the rescue of the surviving crew. it's the indian navy rescuing those survivors. the owners of the ship that was targetted said it was now drifting and on fire. let's speak to our middle east correspondent yolande knell who's injerusalem. these are the first deaths we have seenin these are the first deaths we have seen in these houthi attacks. what is the significance of that? this

seen in these houthi attacks. what is the significance of that?- is the significance of that? this is really going _ is the significance of that? this is really going to — is the significance of that? this is really going to increase _ really going to increase international concern about the impact of the houthi attacks. they began in november as a response, the iran backed group says, to israel's war in gaza, and it said they would continue with the attacks on different vessels. they say that are linked to israel, the us and now the uk, which has been launching retaliatory attacks on the houthis. but in many cases there is no link that can be shown between the vessels that have been attacked and the war in gaza and to the us, uk or israel. has happened here, we have had several people killed. this comes after months when we have had more and more ships now diverting themselves away from the gulf of aden and the red sea. this is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world and it has really been very badly affected by all of this with

shipping companies actually diverting ships to go much longer routes around southern africa. and that has had an impact on international commerce and international commerce and international consumers. we are awaitinu international consumers. we are awaitin: a international consumers. we are awaiting a press _ international consumers. we are awaiting a press conference - international consumers. we are awaiting a press conference in i awaiting a press conference in london where family members of hostages held in gaza are about to speak to reporters. what do we know and what's the latest on those hostages?— and what's the latest on those hosta . es? ., ., ., and what's the latest on those hostaues? ., ., ., ., , ., hostages? there are more than about 130 hostages — hostages? there are more than about 130 hostages still— hostages? there are more than about 130 hostages still being _ hostages? there are more than about 130 hostages still being held - hostages? there are more than about 130 hostages still being held in - 130 hostages still being held in gaza, according to israel's figures. there have been official reports suggesting that at least 30 of those are people who have now been killed as a result of their captivity. the latest figures are not exactly known, that's one of the things holding up truce negotiations, we understand, between israel and

hamas. at the moment there is a hamas. at the moment there is a hamas delegation in cairo that's talking to qatari and egyptian mediators about a possible new truce deal to go through the month of ramadan and that would see some of the surviving israeli hostages released in exchange for palestinian prisoners being released from israeli jails and a big increase in desperately needed aid going into gaza. but there has been a sense from the israeli hostage families in recent weeks that they are becoming more and more worried that time is running out for their loved ones. they are really just trying to running out for their loved ones. they are reallyjust trying to push the israeli government to do much more to bring their loved ones home and to make necessary compromises. just last weekend we saw thousands of people joining just last weekend we saw thousands of peoplejoining in just last weekend we saw thousands of people joining in solidarity in israel with the hostage families as they reached jerusalem at the end of a four day march from the edge of

gaza, from one of the israeli communities that was attacked on the 7th of october by hamas fighters. we are waiting and expecting to hear from those family members any moment. it is a horrendous situation for them waiting to hear the condition of their relatives. and as you said, that's the issue that is halting those peace talks, the ceasefire talks, at the moment. it is certainly one of the issues, from israeli sources, we understand, but it hasn't been commenting officially. the list of surviving hostages has been demanded as part of an agreement towards a new truce dealfor stop hamas has been saying it cannot provide that information until there is a ceasefire, saying hostages are held by different groups in different areas and the ongoing israeli bombardment,

communication difficulties, make it impossible to give us that information without there being some kind of ceasefire in place. there was also a lot of frustration on behalf of the families of hostages because what has been talked about, even the latest deal, which would last for a0 days through ramadan potentially, is only about a0 of the remaining israeli hostages being released, older men, those who are sick, and the remaining women and children being held by hamas and other groups in gaza. 0f children being held by hamas and other groups in gaza. of course, there are many others, israeli men, who are not part of this deal. star; who are not part of this deal. stay with us, who are not part of this deal. stay with us. we _ who are not part of this deal. stay with us, we will— who are not part of this deal. stay with us, we will take _ who are not part of this deal. stay with us, we will take you live to that press conference in london where family members are about to speak. where family members are about to seak. , ., where family members are about to seak. y., , , ., ~ ., ., speak. everyone will speak for a few minutes and — speak. everyone will speak for a few minutes and then _ speak. everyone will speak for a few minutes and then there _ speak. everyone will speak for a few minutes and then there will- speak. everyone will speak for a few minutes and then there will be - speak. everyone will speak for a few minutes and then there will be time | minutes and then there will be time for questions — minutes and then there will be time for questions from _ minutes and then there will be time for questions from journalists. -

minutes and then there will be time for questions from journalists. and i for questions from journalists. and at the _ for questions from journalists. and at the end — for questions from journalists. and at the end of— for questions from journalists. and at the end of the _ for questions from journalists. and at the end of the press _ for questions from journalists. and| at the end of the press conference, those _ at the end of the press conference, those journalists— at the end of the press conference, those journalists who _ at the end of the press conference, those journalists who are _ at the end of the press conference, | those journalists who are interested in having _ those journalists who are interested in having a — those journalists who are interested in having a one _ those journalists who are interested in having a one interview— those journalists who are interested in having a one interview with - in having a one interview with families— in having a one interview with families of— in having a one interview with families of the _ in having a one interview with families of the hostages, - in having a one interview with families of the hostages, you| in having a one interview with - families of the hostages, you can come _ families of the hostages, you can come to— families of the hostages, you can come to me _ families of the hostages, you can come to me or— families of the hostages, you can come to me or my— families of the hostages, you can come to me or my team. - families of the hostages, you can come to me or my team.- come to me or my team. hello, everyone- _ come to me or my team. hello, everyone- my — come to me or my team. hello, everyone. my name _ come to me or my team. hello, everyone. my name is - come to me or my team. hello, everyone. my name is michael. | come to me or my team. hello, i everyone. my name is michael. up untilfive months ago, if everyone. my name is michael. up until five months ago, if you told me that i would come to london, the reason was probably business or pleasure. and then my brother decided to go to a music festival. and since then, my life mission is to bring him back. my brother and his wife went to a music festival.

they left their two—year—old son at home. when they got there, they had to run away into a bomb shelter because of a missile attack. but for a second they thought they were safe. and then the terrorists arrived. they threw grenades into this bomb shelter and sprayed it with bullets. his wife was murdered. my with bullets. his wife was murdered. my little brother had to watch his wife being murdered in front of his eyes, before he was abducted. she was only 32 years old. two—year—old son at home is now left without a dad. he is under the tunnels of gaza being held by monsters. i have only

one thing i want you to remember, take a look at this face, and whenever someone takes it to politics, please remember this face. this is not about politics. it's about human beings, and their only crime was that they wanted to go and celebrate peace and love at a music festival, and wake up in their own homes and spend a quiet weekend with theirfamilies. and they homes and spend a quiet weekend with their families. and they were brutally attacked by monsters. thank you. good morning, everyone. i good morning, everyone. lam the

grandmother of a 19—year—old who was murdered~ _ grandmother of a 19—year—old who was murdered. he was an idf soldier. he was a _ murdered. he was an idf soldier. he was a commander stationed at the border_ was a commander stationed at the border of— was a commander stationed at the border of the gaza strip between two kibbutzim _ border of the gaza strip between two kibbutzim. i think they were probably one of the first tanks engaged in the war at around 6.25 in the morning — engaged in the war at around 6.25 in the morning on that cursed sabbath. they fought for around half an hour, very bravely— they fought for around half an hour, very bravely and courageously, against — very bravely and courageously, against dozens and dozens of invaders. _ against dozens and dozens of invaders, murderers, untilan empty tank rocket—

invaders, murderers, untilan empty tank rocket flew to their tank. their— tank rocket flew to their tank. their crew _ tank rocket flew to their tank. their crew contained four people. two of _ their crew contained four people. two of them died. being the tank commander, shay flew out of the tank because _ commander, shay flew out of the tank because of— commander, shay flew out of the tank because of the blast of the rocket. we didn't— because of the blast of the rocket. we didn't know a lot about him until two weeks _ we didn't know a lot about him until two weeks later when we were told that he _ two weeks later when we were told that he would probably have been kidnapped to gaza. his situation was unknown _ kidnapped to gaza. his situation was unknown. this is how we lived between — unknown. this is how we lived between heaven and earth, not knowing — between heaven and earth, not knowing anything about him. until the 21st _ knowing anything about him. until the 21st of— knowing anything about him. until the 215t ofjanuary, when they finally, — the 215t ofjanuary, when they finally, the army told us that he died _ finally, the army told us that he died on — finally, the army told us that he died on that saturday. no burial, no grave. _ died on that saturday. no burial, no grave. the _ died on that saturday. no burial, no grave, the body is still in gaza. we

had the _ grave, the body is still in gaza. we had the jewish custom, sitting seven days, _ had the jewish custom, sitting seven days, receiving people and family and consoling us. and this is it. but this— and consoling us. and this is it. but this is— and consoling us. and this is it. but this is it, we still have 137 kidnapped people there and we don't know how— kidnapped people there and we don't know how they are. they are not taken _ know how they are. they are not taken care — know how they are. they are not taken care of medically, they are hardly— taken care of medically, they are hardly given to eat anything. they don't _ hardly given to eat anything. they don't see — hardly given to eat anything. they don't see daylight and every day, every— don't see daylight and every day, every extra day, is damaging their possibility— every extra day, is damaging their possibility of coming home alive. so you are _ possibility of coming home alive. so you are our— possibility of coming home alive. so you are our ambassadors. and please, i’ilht you are our ambassadors. and please, right and _ you are our ambassadors. and please, right and say— you are our ambassadors. and please, right and say things. we need them back _ right and say things. we need them back we _ right and say things. we need them back. we didn't start that war. we want _ back. we didn't start that war. we want our— back. we didn't start that war. we want our people back. thank you.

studio: — want our people back. thank you. studio: we are hearing there from families of the hostages being held in gaza. the sense there that there is just the unknown of how family members are. we can return to yolande knell injerusalem. some terrible stories. we heard from the brother of a hostage, who said his brother of a hostage, who said his brother had watched his wife murdered in front of him. some terrible stories we are hearing there. . �* , terrible stories we are hearing there. . �*, ., there. that's right. the hostage families and _ there. that's right. the hostage families and those _ there. that's right. the hostage families and those who - there. that's right. the hostage families and those who are - there. that's right. the hostage i families and those who are related to those killed on the 7th of october, more than 1200 people, they really want to give their first—hand testimony. it is five months on now from those attacks on the 7th of october. and there is a sort of fear that perhaps the international community is forgetting about the

horrors, what israelis suffered that day, and the continued suffering of the hostage families. and they are looking very much to the international community to try to bring its pressure to bear on this situation as well. what will be a worrying development for those at this news conference, we are hearing in the past few minutes, according to an egyptian television channel, close to the intelligence services which have been acting as mediators with hamas in truce talks, we are hearing the hamas delegation has now left cairo although we are told ceasefire talks will resume next week. that will be going into the islamic ramadan holiday. share week. that will be going into the islamic ramadan holiday. are we readin: islamic ramadan holiday. are we reading anything _ islamic ramadan holiday. are we reading anything into _ islamic ramadan holiday. are we reading anything into that, - islamic ramadan holiday. are we reading anything into that, that l islamic ramadan holiday. are we i reading anything into that, that the hamas delegation has left? does it sound like those talks are not progressing as was hoped? already these talks have _ progressing as was hoped? already these talks have been _ progressing as was hoped? already these talks have been going - progressing as was hoped? already these talks have been going on - these talks have been going on through the weeks. they started last

sunday, with the egyptians and qataris as mediators, with us involvement as well, with us envoys present to meet hamas officials. but that israel did not send a delegation along and we are told by sources close to the talks that israel was still getting updated on developments. hamas has indicated it was ready to compromise on the number of palestinian prisoners it wanted to see released from israeli jails as part of a deal. if more people from gaza were allowed to return to their homes in the north, displaced people, during that ceasefire. that does not seem to have been agreed to but we are just trying to work out what is going on without official comment from the different sides on this.— different sides on this. yolande knell in jerusalem, _ different sides on this. yolande knell in jerusalem, thank - different sides on this. yolande knell in jerusalem, thank you. | different sides on this. yolande i knell in jerusalem, thank you. we knell injerusalem, thank you. we werejust hearing from knell injerusalem, thank you. we were just hearing from family members of hostages that are being held in gaza. they are speaking to

reporters there. there is plenty more on all these stories on our website and the bbc news app. for now, stay with us on bbc news. hello again. in the last couple of days, we've started with some mist and fog, and some dense mist and fog patches at that. but in the next few days it won't be such an issue because it's turning windier. we will also see the sunniest conditions in the west, but it's going to be fairly cloudy at times with some scattered showers. high pressure is still anchored across scandinavia, effectively keeping weather fronts at bay in the atlantic. so what we have today is still quite a lot of cloud, especially in eastern and central areas, producing some drizzle in eastern scotland, showers developing across the south—east, the midlands, central southern england, and also wales. and a blustery day with temperatures 7 to about 11 or 12 degrees. heading on into the evening and overnight period, once again we hang onto all this cloud. the showers will push that bit further north.

they could be wintry above a00 metres or so in scotland. there will be some clear skies but it's still going to be windy, so we are not anticipating those issues with mist or fog, and temperatures falling away to between 2 and about 5 degrees. so then, for tomorrow, the high pressure drifts a bit further north across scandinavia. we've got this weather front trying to get into the south—west, isobars alone tell you it's going to be a windy day, windier than today. so we are looking at some brighter conditions across southern england and wales, with some sunshine coming through. a bit more cloud at times across the north of the country. gusty winds, as represented by the black circles. and by the end of the day the cloud will be thickening in the south—west and after dark we'll start to see some rain come in here. temperatures, 6 to about 11 degrees north to south. heading on then from friday into saturday, this low pressure does start to penetrate the south—west. we'll see the weather front travel a little bit further north, bringing in some rain during the course of saturday, which is going to be

a generally cloudy day. it's also going to be a windy day. the best sunshine in the north—west, but at times we'll see holes in that cloud northwards, but they will be filled once again with some cloud right behind them. so, moving on through the weekend, saturday into sunday, we say goodbye to that weather front, and then you can see the isobars open out a touch, so it's still going to be windy at times as we head into the early part of the new week. and certainly on sunday and monday it will be fairly cloudy. but high pressure starts to build in on tuesday.

this is bbc news, the headlines as the planet continues to breach the 1.5 degree warming target — global data shows february was the hottest on record. three crew members killed in a houthi missile strike on a cargo ship off yemen — the indian navy rescue survivors. and ships sailing the seas with no—one onboard — it sounds like science fiction — but it's not — a report on robotic vessels coming up. it's been 15 years since clare wood was murdered in her home by her ex—boyfriend, george appleton, who had a history of violence against women. clare had ended the relationship

after it turned coercive, and she even made a statement to the police — but she was never informed of appleton's abusive past. in 201a, clare's law was introduced — allowing people to ask the police about a partner's criminal record. now, a bbc investigation has found some forces are taking months to disclose information and large numbers of requests are rejected. clare's daughter, maddy, was just ten—years—old when her mum was killed. she says the delays could be putting lives at risk. our investigative reporter caroline bilton has more. the salford woman whose charred body was found _ the salford woman whose charred body was found at her home had been living _ was found at her home had been living in— was found at her home had been living in fear for weeks.- was found at her home had been living in fear for weeks. claire was murdered by _ living in fear for weeks. claire was murdered by her— living in fear for weeks. claire was murdered by her boyfriend. - living in fear for weeks. claire was i murdered by her boyfriend. unknown to her church appleton had a record of violence against women. held

to her church appleton had a record of violence against women.- of violence against women. held a ounu of violence against women. held a young lady — of violence against women. held a young lady at—