World Meteorological Organization

September 3, 2026 1:22 PM

El Niño likely to strengthen further, persist into 2027, WMO says

The El Niño weather phenomenon is set to strengthen further into 2027, raising risks of extreme weather into next year, the World Meteorological Organization said on Thursday. The U.N. weather agency said its forecasts showed a near 100% likelihood that El Niño will persist through February 2027, fuelled by exceptionally warm Pacific Ocean temperatures. A very strong El Niño can significantly shift rainfall and temperature patterns worldwide, and fuel extreme weather, like typhoons. "El Ni...

June 2, 2026 10:11 PM

UN warns of extreme heat risk from El Nino and urges preparedness

The United Nations weather agency forecast on Tuesday a moderate or possibly strong El Nino that could drive up global temperatures and increase the risk of extreme weather over the coming months. El Nino is a periodic warming of sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean, which typically lasts between nine and 12 months, according to the World Meteorological Organization. The WMO said warm ocean waters were driving El Nino’s development and predicted above-avera...

October 15, 2025 10:34 PM

CO2 levels hit highest ever recorded, WMO says, warning of more extreme weather

Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have reached the highest ever recorded, potentially further warming the planet and leading to more extreme climate events, a new report by the World Meteorological Organization found. From 2023 to 2024, the global average concentration of CO2 rose by 3.5 parts per million - the largest increase since modern measurements started in 1957, according to the report, published ahead of next month's United Nations Climate Change Conference in Brazil. The burnin...

April 15, 2025 3:32 PM

Europe had most widespread floods for more than a decade in 2024, scientists say

Europe faced its most widespread flooding last year since 2013, with 30% of the continent's river network hit by significant floods, scientists said on Tuesday, as fossil fuel-driven climate change continued to prompt torrential rain and other extreme weather. Flooding killed at least 335 people in Europe in 2024 and affected more than 410,000, the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service and the World Meteorological Organization said in a joint report on Europe's climate. Western Eu...

September 17, 2024 12:57 PM

Ozone layer on road to recovery despite volcano eruption, UN weather body says

The world's ozone layer is on "the road to long-term recovery" despite a destructive volcanic eruption in the South Pacific, the World Meteorological Organization said on Tuesday, after efforts to phase out ozone-depleting chemicals. On current trends, the ozone layer is on track to recover to 1980 levels by around 2066 over the Antarctic, 2045 over the Arctic and 2040 for the rest of the world, the United Nations agency said. Though the volcanic eruption near Tonga in early 2022 led to a shor...

September 2, 2024 3:04 PM

Africa faces steep costs as temperatures soar, says WMO

Africa faces an increasingly heavy toll from climate change with many countries having to spend up to 9% of their budgets battling climate extremes, a World Meteorological Organization (WMO) report said on Monday. Despite producing far lower greenhouse gas emissions than other continents, Africa's temperatures have risen more rapidly than the global average. African countries are now losing on average 2%–5% of gross domestic product responding to deadly heatwaves, heavy rains, floods, cyclon...

June 20, 2024 6:33 PM

Millions sweltering under extreme heat worldwide as summer arrives

Dangerous heatwaves are scorching cities on four continents as the Northern Hemisphere marks the first day of summer, a sign that climate change may again bring about record-breaking heat that could surpass last summer as the warmest in 2,000 years. Countries around the Mediterranean have endured another week of blistering high temperatures that have contributed to forest fires from Portugal to Greece and along the northern coast of Africa in Algeria, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and ...