2026 on Track to Be Among Four Hottest Years, UN Report Says

A UN report says 2026 may become one of the four hottest years on record, with ocean temperatures rising, glaciers melting, and sea levels hitting new highs. From January to September, the global average temperature was 1.47 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, according to the World Meteorological Organization. The figure could rise further due to a strong El Niño, and all of the last 12 years rank among the 12 warmest since records began around 1850. The EU's Copernicus service projects 2026 will almost certainly be the second year after 2024 to exceed 1.5 degrees of warming, a threshold set by the 2015 Paris Agreement. The data was released ahead of UN climate talks in Turkey starting November 9.