2011 to 2015 reaches warmest five-year period on record: WMO

The World Meteorological Organization released this new report also stating that this year is slated to be the hottest year ever registered, as the planet’s temperature already passed every milestone of over 1 degree Celsius above pre industrial levels.

The WMO said the waters have been absorbing more than 90% of the energy that has accumulated in the climate system from human emissions of greenhouse gases. Even for a record breaking hot year for Earth, October stood out as absurdly warm. We have the knowledge and the tools to act.

“What we call a cold year now would have been considered a record warm year before 1997”, he added.

China had its warmest January-to-October period on record, Africa is experiencing its second warmest year on record, while temperatures have also soared in western North America, large parts of South America, Africa and southern and eastern Eurasia.

“In the United Kingdom, our variable weather means that 2015 will not set any records for warmth, but the longer view shows United Kingdom temperatures have risen about 20 percent faster than the global average”.

“2015 is likely to be the hottest year on record, with ocean surface temperatures at the highest level since measurements began”. We have a choice.

The pending heat records come after concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere hit record highs in 2014, prompting WMO earlier this month to warn that climate change was moving the world into “uncharted territory”. Future generations will not’.

“Moreover, 2015 is not a one-off, as indicated by the last five years’ average also being the warmest on record”.

But decisions made at a summit of world leaders in Paris starting on 29 November could keep global temperature rises within 2C over pre-industrial times, a target set down in 2010 to try to prevent unsafe climate change. Climate experts say this is the result of a combination of human-induced global warming and a particularly strong El Nino.

El Nino has gained in strength within recent months and continues to be rated among the three most powerful since 1950. “The overall warming impact of this El Niño is expected to continue into 2016”, added Mr Jarraud.

Heatwaves rocked India and Pakistan in May and June, killing thousands as temperatures topped 40C. El Nino, a naturally occurring weather pattern marked by warming sea-surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, causes extremes such as scorching weather, droughts and flooding around the world.

Many extreme events seen in the 2011-2015 period, in particular heatwaves and unusually hot summers or years, have become more likely because of human-induced climate change, scientific assessments show.