(FILES) This photograph taken near Gletsch, in the Swiss Alps, on July 8, 2022 shows insulating foam covering a part of the Rhone Glacier to prevent it from melting next to its glacial lake, formed by the melting of the glacier due to global warming. Global temperatures "smashed" heat records last year, as heatwaves stalked oceans and glaciers suffered record ice loss, the United Nations said on March 19, 2024, warning 2024 was likely to be even hotter. The annual State of the Climate report by the UN's World Meteorological Organization confirmed preliminary data showing 2023 was by far the hottest year ever recorded. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)