The world is heading towards another year of exceptional heat, with 2026 likely to rank among the four warmest years since records began, according to a new report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
The findings, released on Monday, point to the continued impact of human-driven climate change, with a strengthening El Niño phenomenon potentially pushing global temperatures even higher in the months ahead.
Data covering January to September 2026 placed the global average temperature at 1.47°C above the pre-industrial baseline. The report, drawing on nine international datasets, also confirmed that every year over the past 12 years has ranked among the 12 warmest on record.
The latest assessment comes as countries gather in Turkey from November 9 to 20 for another round of international climate negotiations. The WMO’s annual State of the Climate report is expected to provide an important scientific basis for discussions on the escalating climate crisis and the urgency of stronger global action.
Speaking ahead of the conference, WMO Head of Climate Information John Kennedy said the evidence of global heating was increasingly visible across the Earth’s major climate systems. He pointed to rising ocean temperatures, atmospheric warming, shrinking ice reserves and rising sea levels as interconnected signs of the growing accumulation of heat in the planet’s climate system.
The European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service has separately indicated that 2026 is almost certain to become the second calendar year, after 2024, to record a global average temperature exceeding 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
The Paris Agreement, adopted in 2015, established the ambition of limiting long-term global warming to 1.5°C, although a single year above that level does not, by itself, mean the long-term threshold has been permanently breached.
The WMO report also highlighted continued warming of the oceans, with sea temperatures rising further this year following record levels in 2025. Global mean sea level has likewise reached a new high, driven by the melting of glaciers and ice sheets, alongside the expansion of seawater as it warms.
Together, the indicators reinforce growing scientific concerns that climate change is intensifying across multiple fronts. As governments prepare for the latest climate negotiations, the report adds to pressure for more ambitious emissions reductions, stronger adaptation measures and sustained investment in climate resilience.
