WMO Warns 2026 Among Four Hottest Years on Record

The WMO’s State of the Climate report says the past 12 years have each been the warmest on record, with the past four occupying the top four places. The organization expects the 2026 temperature figure to rise before year’s end as El Niño strengthens. Intensifying since August, the Pacific climate pattern is expected to be among the strongest on record by December, the report’s summary says, and could fuel heat and extreme weather into 2027.

The report also records the highest global energy imbalance since monitoring began. Greenhouse gases are trapping more heat, 90% of which is absorbed by the ocean. WMO said 2026 is on track to be the 10th consecutive year of record ocean warmth; sea level is at a record high, and monthly sea-surface temperature records were set during the year. Glacier retreat continues, while freshwater storage has declined since 2014. The ice lost in 2025 would have filled five Olympic pools every second, according to the report.

WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said extreme weather has meant deaths, health and safety threats, flooded homes, failed harvests, water shortages and polluted air. She said the ocean’s heat is breaking records for the 10th year in a row and that El Niño releases heat already stored in the ocean rather than adding new heat to the planet.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said climate records were falling while human costs rose, with people least responsible for global warming suffering first and worst. He urged leaders to cut emissions faster, move away from fossil fuels and provide finance and protection to vulnerable countries. The report was published in Antalya on the first day of COP31. Amnesty International’s Marta Schaaf and Oil Change International’s Shady Khalil also called for a fair fossil-fuel phaseout, investment in renewable energy and support for countries to make the transition.