WMO Report: Earth's Climate More Unbalanced Than Ever in Recorded History

The World Meteorological Organization warned on March 23, 2026, that the Earth's climate is more unbalanced than at any other time in recorded history, releasing a report showing that the planet is absorbing far more thermal energy than it can release. The period from 2015 to 2025 constitutes the 11 hottest years since records began in 1850, according to the WMO. In 2025, the average global air temperature stood at 1.43 (°C above pre-industrial levels) — 2025 average global temperature anomaly above pre-industrial levels, making it one of the three hottest years on record. The year 2024 was even hotter, reaching approximately 1.55°C above pre-industrial levels, amplified by the El Niño weather phenomenon. A temporary cooling effect from La Niña moderated 2025 temperatures relative to 2024, but scientists warn that warming is accelerating beyond anything previously observed in the instrumental record.

Energy imbalance metric appears in WMO report for first time The WMO described the planet's "energy imbalance" as the most comprehensive measure of climate disruption, and featured the metric prominently in a global climate report for the first time. Under stable conditions, the amount of heat energy arriving from the Sun would roughly equal the energy the Earth radiates back into space, but greenhouse gases have disrupted that equilibrium. According to the WMO, more than 91 (%) — share of excess heat energy stored in the world's oceans of the excess heat energy is stored in the oceans, which act as a buffer against higher land temperatures. A further three percent of excess energy contributes to the melting of glaciers and ice-covered areas, five percent is absorbed by land, and only one percent by the atmosphere itself. Greenhouse gas concentrations, including carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, have reached their highest levels in at least 800,000 years, according to the WMO. WMO chief Celeste Saulo stated that human activities are increasingly disrupting the natural energy balance, and that the consequences will persist for hundreds and thousands of years. „Human activities are increasingly disrupting this natural balance, and we will live with the consequences for hundreds and thousands of years.” — Celeste Saulo via Seznam Zprávy

The WMO has tracked global climate data since its founding in 1950, building on records that extend back to 1850. The El Niño–Southern Oscillation cycle, which alternates between warming El Niño and cooling La Niña phases, has long been recognized as a major driver of year-to-year temperature variability. The current report marks the first time the WMO has foregrounded the planetary energy imbalance as a headline indicator in its annual State of the Global Climate assessment. CO2 levels in the atmosphere are now at their highest in at least two million years, according to the WMO, driven by the burning of fossil fuels since the industrial era.

Glaciers and polar ice recorded near-record losses in 2025 Beyond temperature records, the WMO pointed to a series of physical indicators showing accelerating change across the planet's systems. According to preliminary data, the world's glaciers experienced one of their five worst years on record in the 2024-25 period, while sea ice at both poles remained at minimum levels or close to them for most of 2025. The oceans warmed to unprecedented levels last year, driven by the record energy imbalance, and polar ice caps continued to melt at elevated rates. Scientists acknowledge they are still investigating the precise mechanisms behind the scale of heat accumulation over the past decade, but express no doubt that heat-trapping greenhouse gases are the primary cause. The WMO report described CO2 concentrations as the highest in at least two million years, attributing the rise to human activities including the burning of fossil fuels.

2024: 1.55, 2025: 1.43

Guterres links fossil fuel dependency to Middle East conflict and energy prices UN Secretary-General António Guterres responded to the WMO report with a strongly worded video address, calling on countries to abandon fossil fuels in favor of renewable energy to secure climate, energy and national security simultaneously. „The planet Earth is being pushed beyond its limits. All the main climate indicators are on red alert.” — António Guterres via BBC Guterres also drew a direct connection between fossil fuel dependence and geopolitical instability, noting that oil and natural gas prices rose sharply in recent weeks following American and Israeli attacks on Iran and the subsequent blocking of the Strait of Hormuz, a key maritime route for fossil fuel transport. „Climate stress in this period of war reveals another truth: our dependence on fossil fuels is destabilizing the climate as well as global security.” — António Guterres via Seznam Zprávy Looking ahead, scientists forecast a new El Niño phase to begin at the end of 2026, which could push global temperatures to new records and compound the trends documented in the current WMO report. The combination of the returning El Niño cycle and the underlying energy imbalance has led researchers to warn that the coming years may surpass even the extreme readings of 2024.