The Earth set unofficial record high temperatures last week. Scientists said they were a clear sign of how pollutants     1     (release) by humans are warming the environment. But the heat is also just one way the planet is telling us something is     2     (serious) wrong, they added.

Most of the planet     3     (cover) by oceans, which have taken in     4     percent of the recent warming caused by planet-warming gases such as carbon dioxide and methane.

In April, worldwide ocean temperature rose to 21.1 degrees Celsius,     5     scientists believe was caused by a     6     (combine) of planet-warming gases and the early El Nino formation.

High levels of wildfire smoke are more common on the West Coast. But, recently, several rounds of wildfire smoke from wildfires in northern Canada brought     7     (danger) air quality levels to eastern North America.

The current El Nino formed a month or two     8     (early) than usual. It replaced La Nina that, with its cooling of Pacific waters, kept worldwide temperatures down. That means that it will have more time than usual to     9     (strength).

The World Meteorological Organization predicts there is     10     98 percent chance that at least one of the next five years will be the warmest     11     record. One of these years would beat temperatures from 2016 when an exceptionally strong El Nino was present.

Several examples told us that a knowledge of natural disasters can save our lives. Sabrina Andron helped many people escape danger     1     her knowledge of tsunamis. She noticed something odd while     2    (walk) along Goldshore Beach. It     3    (occur) to her that these were signs of an approaching tsunami. Her parents then told this to a safety officer, who     4    (immediate) realized the coming danger. The beach was cleared of people just     5     the huge waves crashed into the coast.