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

The year 2026 is likely to be among the four warmest years on record, with the period from 2023 to 2026 accounting for the four hottest years, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in its State of the Climate report released on Monday, according to Vishwa Mohan's Times of India report.

The report was released on the opening day of the 31st session of the UN climate conference (COP31) in Antalya, Turkiye.

According to the WMO, each of the past 12 years has featured among the warmest on record. The global average surface temperature between January and September 2026 was around 1.47 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average recorded between 1850 and 1900.


The temperature could rise further by the end of the year due to the warming impact of El Nino, which has been strengthening since August and is expected to be the strongest on record by December, the WMO said.

The organisation warned that the prolonged run of unusually high temperatures, melting ice and rising sea levels could trigger further warming and extreme weather events well into 2027.

Among the other findings, the report said global mean sea levels reached a record high in 2026, while sea-surface temperatures also touched monthly records during the year. Freshwater storage has been declining since 2014.

Glaciers lost more than 400 gigatonnes of ice in 2025, equivalent to around 1 mm of sea-level rise. The annual ice loss was comparable to filling five Olympic-sized swimming pools every second throughout the year.

"El Nino and indeed the state of the global climate in 2026 gives new meaning to the phrase off the charts. El Nino doesn't add new heat to the planet. It releases heat from the ocean, which is the warmest ever measured...We are supercharging our weather and El Nino will be a risk multiplier," WMO secretary-general Celeste Saulo said.

The report noted that 2024 remains the warmest year on record, followed by 2023 and 2025, and stressed the need for urgent action to limit further increases in global temperatures.

El Nino is a naturally occurring climate phenomenon marked by above-average sea-surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean. It influences weather patterns across regions, affecting temperatures and rainfall, and generally has a warming effect on the global climate.

In India, El Nino is commonly associated with weaker monsoons and harsher summers.

(With TOI inputs)