World Meteorological Organization

Geneva/New York, 26 October (WMO) – In yet another ominous climate change warning, atmospheric levels of the three main greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide all reached new record highs in 2021, according to a new report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). WMO’s Greenhouse Gas Bulletin reported the biggest year-on-year jump in […]

July 19, 2022 – “We have broken an all-time high in the UK”, said Petteri Taalas, WMO Secretary-General. “Heatwaves will happen more frequently because of climate change. The connection has been clearly demonstrated by IPCC”. Stable high pressures, and hence the heatwave, are here to last for several days. This Tuesday was expected to be […]

For the first time temperatures of 40°C have been forecast in the UK and the Met Office has issued the first ever Red warning for exceptional heat. In Portugal and Spain  temperatures have reached highs up to around 46 degrees Celsius. Exceptional heat is expected to affect a large part of England early this week, with […]

GENEVA, December 14, 2021 (WMO) – A temperature of 38°C (100.4°F) in the Russian town of Verkhoyansk on 20 June 2020 has been recognized as a new Arctic temperature record by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The temperature, more befitting the Mediterranean than the Arctic, was measured at a meteorological observing station during an exceptional […]

The Extraordinary World Meteorological Congress has endorsed a Water Declaration, including the Water and Climate Coalition, to accelerate implementation of SDG 6, and approved a new vision and strategy for hydrology and an associated plan of action. The resolutions reflect the top priority given to water by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in the face […]

 A weak La Niña event may re-emerge later in 2021 for the second consecutive year, with the risk that forecast precipitation patterns may exacerbate existing drought in some parts of the world and increase the risk of heavy rainfall and flooding in others. But despite La Niña’s cooling influence, temperatures over land areas are expected […]

Geneva, 23 July 2021 (WMO) – Water-related hazards dominate the list of disasters in terms of both the human and economic toll over the past 50 years, according to a comprehensive analysis by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Of the top 10 disasters, the hazards that led to the largest human losses during the period […]

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has recognized a new record high temperature for the Antarctic continent of 18.3° Celsius on 6 February 2020 at the Esperanza station (Argentina). However, it rejected an even higher temperature, of 20.75°C, which was reported on 9 February 2020 at an automated permafrost monitoring station (Brazil) on Seymour Island. The […]

Geneva, 27 May 2021 (WMO) – There is about a 40% chance of the annual average global temperature temporarily reaching 1.5°C above the pre-industrial level in at least one of the next five years – and these odds are increasing with time, according to a new climate update issued by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). There is […]

December 24, 2020 – As 2020 draws to an end, it closes the warmest decade (2011-2020) on record, according to the World Meteorological Organization. This year remains on track to be one of the three warmest on record, and may even rival 2016 as the warmest on record. The six warmest years have all been […]

As the global community comes together to celebrate World Environment Day, important new data shows that the causes and indicators of climate change have reached new heights. May 2020 was the warmest May on record, according to one internationally recognized dataset. Carbon dioxide levels at a benchmark observing station also set a new record. This will […]