25 November 2015: The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has estimated that the world will have reached 1°C of warming above pre-industrial levels in 2015. The Organization predicts that the global average surface temperature in 2015 is likely to be the warmest on record, noting the cause as a combination of anthropogenic climate change and a strong El Niño. In addition, the years 2011-2015 make up the warmest five-year period ever recorded, according to the WMO.

Citing “bad news for the planet,” WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud noted a number of other historic milestones in 2015, including new highs for levels of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere; the three-month global average concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) exceeding 400 parts per million (ppm) in the Northern hemisphere spring; and the highest level of ocean surface temperatures since measurements began.

According to WMO’s preliminary figures, the five-year period 2011-2015 will be the warmest for Asia, Europe, South America and Oceania, and North America. On cold anomalies, the WMO indicates that the Antarctic was notably cold with the Southern Annular Mode lasting for several months, and that Argentina had its coldest October on record, despite a particularly warm January-September.

The agency also notes that 2011-2015 was marked by many extreme weather events, especially heatwaves but also excessive rainfall, droughts and tropical cyclones. The probability of these events, especially extreme heat, has substantially increased as a result of human-induced climate change, according to WMO. [WMO Press Release] [Provisional Annual Statement on the Status of Global Climate in 2015] [Provisional Statement on the Status of Global Climate in 2011-2015]