2026 set to rank among 4 warmest years on record, WMO says

The WMO said the average global temperature from January to September was about 1.47°C above pre-industrial levels. The years 2023-2026 are expected to be the four warmest on record.

A strong El Niño, which has been intensifying since August, is expected to bring further warming and raise the risk of extreme weather through 2027. The WMO said it could become the strongest such event on record by December.

The report also found that ocean temperatures continued to rise, with 2026 on track to be the tenth consecutive year of record-high ocean temperatures. Global sea levels reached a new high, while glaciers lost more than 400 billion tons of ice in 2025. Global freshwater storage has also declined since 2014.

Extreme weather continued to take a heavy toll. Heatwaves, droughts and wildfires in Europe caused more than 30,000 excess deaths, according to preliminary estimates. In India, an estimated 146.5 million people were exposed to extreme heat during an April heatwave. A glacier collapse and flash floods in Nepal in late August killed more than 1,300 people.

The WMO warned that El Niño could increase health risks, including heat-related illnesses and the spread of diseases such as cholera, malaria and dengue, while also worsening food insecurity. The World Health Organization has classified the anticipated health impacts as a health emergency for the first time.

The report was released on the opening day of COP31, the UN climate conference in Antalya, Türkiye. The WMO said its findings are based on data available through September 2026 and do not yet reflect the latest effects of El Niño. The final State of the Global Climate report for 2026 is expected in March 2027.

Earlier, it was reported that the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change would begin Monday in Antalya, bringing together heads of state, senior officials, academics, and civil society representatives from around the world.