London, Nov 15 (IANS): Britain's Met Office said that 2016 was on track to be the warmest year since instrumental records started in 1850.

If confirmed, when the final results are compiled at the end of the year, 2016 will be the third consecutive year of exceptionally-high average surface global temperatures, the Met office announced on Monday.

"All of the warmest 10 years on record for global average surface temperature have occurred since 1997, according to a series data which begins in 1850," said a spokesman.

Data for 2016 showed a current value of 0.84 degrees Celsius above the average for the 30-year period between 1961 and 1990.

Professor Peter Stott of the Met Office, said: "Three record-breaking years for global temperature would be remarkable. The year 2015 was exceptionally warm and, like 2016, was influenced by the warm El Nino circulation in the tropical Pacific."

The Met Office announcement coincides with a statement from the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) which says preliminary data shows that 2016's global temperatures are approximately 1.2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

The year 2016 is the second year running that global average surface temperatures have exceeded 1.0 degree Celsius on record since 1850.

The WMO figure for global average surface temperature from January to September 2016 has been about 0.88 degrees Celsius above the 1961 to 1990 reference period.