- Title: UN weather agency confirms hottest decade on record
- Date: 23rd March 2026
- Summary: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (MARCH 19, 2026) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) WMO DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL, KO BARRETT, SAYING: “Extreme events, including intense heat, heavy rainfall, and tropical cyclones, created challenges for virtually every continent and are a key way that societies are experiencing a changing climate. The ocean continues to warm and absorb carbon dioxide, pl
- Embargoed:
- Keywords: Guterres United Nations WMO climate change glaciers heatwaves pollution temperature
- Location: VARIOUS
- City: VARIOUS
- Country: Switzerland
- Topics: Climate Change,Environment,Europe,General News,Government / Politics,Climate Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA007565119032026RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The past eleven years between 2015-2025 have been the hottest since records began, the U.N. weather agency said on Monday (March 23) with 2025 ranking either second or third overall.
The World Meteorological Organization report said the years 2015-2025 were the hottest 11 years since records began in 1850. 2025 was either the second or third hottest on record, the WMO State of the Global Climate report said, at about 1.43 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average.
This confirms an earlier report from the WMO that 2025 was one of the three hottest on record.
Glacier mass loss from key sites was among the five worst on record, the report said, with exceptional losses reported in Iceland and North America.
"The state of the global climate is in a state of emergency. Planet Earth is being pushed beyond its limits. Every key climate indicator is flashing red," said United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a video statement released on Thursday (March 19).
The report also confirmed that 2024 was the hottest year at about 1.55 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average.
Governments pledged under the 2015 Paris Agreement to try to avoid exceeding 1.5 C of global warming, measured as a decades-long average temperature compared with pre-industrial temperatures.
(Production: Cecile Mantovani) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2026. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None