The record-smashing heat that fueled extreme weather events last year is likely to continue in 2025, the World Meteorological Organization warned on Monday.
A red alert has been issued in the latest WMO State of the Climate report to signal how escalating greenhouse gas levels have and will further aggravate climate change.
“2015 to 2024 will be the warmest 10 years on record; the loss of ice from glaciers, sea-level rise, and ocean heating are accelerating; and extreme weather is wreaking havoc on communities and economies across the world,” WMO said.
Between January and September, global average temperatures were 1.54 degrees Celsius hotter than pre-industrial times, heightened by a warming El Niño phenomenon, the report found.
Temperatures are likely to increase by 3.1 degrees Celsius by the end of the century if no urgent climate action is taken, including a massive cut in emissions, the study noted.
"Greenhouse gas levels continue to grow to record observed highs, locking in even more heat for the future. As global temperatures rise, extreme heat events become more frequent and severe. Every fraction of a degree of warming matters," the organization stressed.
WMO officials said they will keep working globally to track climate conditions and help communities address and adapt to the climate crisis.
“The exceedance of warming levels referred to in the Paris Agreement should be understood as an exceedance over an extended period, typically decades or longer, although the agreement itself does not provide a specific definition," WMO said.
Climate change amplified 26 of the 29 severe weather events that displaced millions of people in 2024, the World Weather Attribution and Climate Central revealed.