Last seven years on track to be hottest on record: UN

Preliminary World Meteorological Organisation report launched as UN COP26 climate conference opens in Glasgow

Report says global warming from greenhouse gas emissions threatens ‘far-reaching repercussions for current and future generations’

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This illuminated iceberg in Greenland was part of a project by Swiss light artist Gerry Hofstetter as temporary memorial to climate change. Photo: EPA

Published: 1:12am, 1 Nov 2021Updated: 12:42pm, 1 Nov 2021

The years from 2015 to 2021 are on track to be the seven hottest on record, the World Meteorological Organisation said on Sunday, warning that the planet was heading into “uncharted territory”.

The preliminary WMO state of the climate report, launched as the UN COP26 climate conference opens, said that global warming from greenhouse gas emissions threatens “far-reaching repercussions for current and future generations”.

Based on data for the first nine months of the year, the WMO said 2021 was likely to be between the fifth and seventh warmest year on record – despite the cooling effect of the La Nina phenomenon that lowered temperatures at the beginning of the year.

Submerged cars after heavy rainfall caused the Kosi River to overflow at the Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand, India on October 19. Photo: AP

“From the ocean depths to mountain tops, from melting glaciers to relentless extreme weather events, ecosystems and communities around the globe are being devastated,” said United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a statement on the report.

He added that the two-week COP26 climate conference “must be a turning point for people and planet”.

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