The past decade has been the hottest on record, with last year being the warmest year ever documented. A United Nations report released on Wednesday confirms that all ten of the hottest years have occurred within the last decade, while atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have surged to their highest point in 800,000 years.
In its annual state of the climate report, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) outlined the alarming indicators of a rapidly warming planet—record-breaking ocean temperatures, rising sea levels, and glaciers retreating at an unprecedented pace.
“Our planet is issuing more distress signals,” said António Guterres, United Nations secretary-general. He noted that the report says the international goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.8 Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times is still possible.
“Leaders must step up to make it happen — seizing the benefits of cheap, clean renewables for their people and economies,” he added.
The report attributes the rising temperatures primarily to human activities such as burning coal, oil, and gas, with additional influence from the naturally occurring El Nino weather phenomenon.
The El Nino event, which developed in June 2023 and dissipated a year later, added extra heat and contributed to record-breaking temperatures. While 2024 saw global temperatures temporarily exceed the 1.5 degree Celcius threshold, scientists emphasize that a sustained breach over multiple years would indicate a long-term crisis.
The impacts of climate change are already severe. The report highlights how rising global temperatures are fueling extreme weather events, leading to the highest levels of displacement in 16 years, worsening food crises, and causing massive economic losses. In 2024 alone, at least 151 extreme weather events were classified as “unprecedented.”
“It is a wake-up call that we are increasing the risks to our lives, economies and to the planet,,” said WMO secretary-general Celeste Saulo.
The report’s warnings come at a time when US President Donald Trump has rolled back several climate policies and cast doubt on climate science. As the world’s second-largest current polluter and the largest historical emitter of greenhouse gases, the US’s shift away from climate commitments has raised concerns that other nations may weaken their own environmental goals.
“The science is indisputable. Attempts to hide climate science from the public will not stop us from feeling the dire impacts of climate change,” said Brenda Ekwurzel of the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate echoed the urgency of the crisis and said, “the longer we delay emissions cuts, the worse it will get.”