The World Meteorological Organization released its State of the Global Climate update as the 31st UN climate conference began in Antalya, Turkey, presenting data on rapidly accelerating heat accumulation in Earth’s systems. The agency reported that the energy imbalance between incoming solar radiation and outgoing energy from the planet has reached its highest level since monitoring began, driving intensification of extreme weather phenomena including heatwaves, droughts, and tropical cyclones.
Temperature measurements through September showed the global average surface temperature approximately 1.47 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. Sea surface temperatures and sea levels both set records, while the ocean—which absorbs roughly 90 percent of excess heat from greenhouse gases—is on track for a tenth consecutive year of record thermal content. The energy imbalance has accelerated significantly, rising at a rate of 0.3 watts per square meter per decade from 2001 to 2025, compared with 0.13 watts per square meter between 1960 and 2025.
Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations have increased substantially since the climate convention was signed in 1992, rising from 356.42 parts per million to 426.8 ppm in 2025, representing a 53 percent increase since 1750. Polar regions showed concerning trends, with Antarctic sea ice reaching its third-lowest annual maximum while Arctic ice approached historic lows. Glaciers globally experienced mass loss for the fourth consecutive year across all 19 glacierised regions, with combined losses exceeding 400 gigatonnes.
UN Secretary General António Guterres characterized the conditions as marking “a new age of climate extremes,” noting the convergence of a powerful El Niño phenomenon with an already superheated planet. The current year continues a streak in which 2023 through 2026 represent the four warmest years in the instrumental record. Climate researchers highlighted the accelerating rate of planetary warming and expressed concern that previous projections for end-of-century temperature increases may prove overly optimistic.
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