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UN agency warns Earth is accumulating heat at an accelerating rate

scienceNov 9, 202621573

The World Meteorological Organization reported that Earth is accumulating heat at an accelerating rate, with the energy imbalance between incoming solar radiation and outgoing heat reaching its highest level since monitoring began. The WMO said January, September 2026 averaged about 1.47C above the preindustrial baseline and that 2026 is on track to be one of the four warmest years on record, making 2023, 2026 the four warmest years since records began. Ocean surface temperatures set monthly records, sea level was the highest on record, and the ocean, which absorbs about 90% of excess heat, is on track for a 10th successive year of record ocean heat; heat in the upper 2,000 metres in 2025 was the highest in the observed record and accelerating. The WMO calculated Earth’s energy imbalance rose at about 0.3 watts per square metre per decade from 2001, 2025, compared with 0.13 W/m2 per decade from 1960, 2025. The report says a brewing El Niño, forecast to be stronger than any in the past 1,000 years, is colliding with manmade warming and makes final 2026 temperatures likely higher than 1.47C above preindustrial levels. The WMO warned this accumulated heat will supercharge heatwaves, droughts and tropical cyclones; António Guterres said "we have entered a new age of climate extremes." The report also noted Antarctic sea ice reached its third-lowest annual maximum in 2026, the Arctic maximum was the lowest or second lowest, glaciers lost more than 400 gigatonnes of mass, and all 19 glacierised regions experienced mass loss for a fourth consecutive year.

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