WMO: 2026 could rank among four hottest years on record — Jerusalem Post

In Geneva, the World Meteorological Organization reported that 2026 could rank among the four warmest years on record. From January through September, the average global temperature was 1.47 °C above the pre-industrial level, while a powerful El Niño event could intensify warming, the Jerusalem Post reports.

Twelve warmest years in a row

The WMO's State of the Climate report, which summarizes nine datasets, found that each of the past 12 years, including 2026, ranks among the 12 warmest since records began around 1850.

John Kennedy, head of climate information at the WMO, said that all indicators point to one trend: heat trapped by greenhouse gases is manifesting itself in the ocean and atmosphere, ice melt, and rising sea levels.

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Ocean temperature and sea level

The EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service previously said that 2026 will almost certainly become the second calendar year after 2024 in which temperatures exceed the pre-industrial level by 1.5 °C — the threshold set by the 2015 Paris Agreement.

According to the UN report, ocean temperatures continue to rise this year after the record levels of 2025. The average global sea level has also reached a record high due to the melting of glaciers and ice sheets, as well as the thermal expansion of seawater.