The 2015 Paris Agreement saw countries agree to cap global warming at "well below" 2C above pre-industrial levels, and 1.5C if possible. This will "focus the minds of delegates at COP26 aspiring to keep global temperature rise to within the limits agreed in Paris six years ago", said Stephen Belcher, chief scientist at Britain's Met Office. The WMO found that the average temperature for 2021 was around 1.09 degrees Celsius higher than pre-industrial levels.Īnd the average temperature over the last 20 years (2002-2021) for the first time exceeded the symbolic threshold of 1C above the mid-19th century, when humans began burning fossil fuels on an industrial scale.
He added that the two-week COP26 climate conference "must be a turning point for people and planet". "From the ocean depths to mountain tops, from melting glaciers to relentless extreme weather events, ecosystems and communities around the globe are being devastated," said United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a statement on the report.
Based on data for the first nine months of the year, the WMO said 2021 was likely to be between the fifth and seventh warmest year on record - despite the cooling effect of the La Nina phenomenon that lowered temperatures at the beginning of the year.
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