ANTALYA, (PACNEWS)-The developing super El Niño could push global temperatures to another record high in 2027, with the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) warning that the scale of the current climate event is unlike anything it has previously monitored.
WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said global temperatures were already at dangerous levels, with the first nine months of 2026 averaging about 1.47 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial level.
Speaking at a press conference at COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye, on the release of the WMO’s State of the Climate Update 2026, Saulo said the past 12 years had been the warmest on record, while the past four years, including 2026, ranked as the four hottest.
She warned that temperatures could rise further as the developing El Niño strengthens.
“This 2026/2027 El Niño is off the charts. It is different from any El Niño that we have monitored,” Saulo said.
WMO forecasts indicate sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific could reach nearly four times the threshold used to declare an El Niño between November 2026 and January 2027.
Saulo said El Niño typically had its greatest influence on global temperatures in the year after its development, pointing to 2024, which became the warmest year on record.
“This is why 2024 was the warmest year on record, and why we should therefore prepare for another record-breaking year in 2027,” she said.
The WMO update also highlights record ocean warming, rising sea levels and intensifying extreme weather.
Ocean heat reached its highest level for the tenth consecutive year, while sea surface temperatures recorded monthly highs during 2026.
Global sea levels have also reached a record high, increasing risks for an estimated 900 million people living along low-lying coastlines.
“We are super-charging our weather,” Saulo said.
She warned that heatwaves, tropical cyclones and heavy rainfall were intensifying faster than historical climate patterns had prepared communities and economies to withstand.
The human and economic costs were already severe, with millions exposed to dangerous heat during 2026 and tens of thousands of excess deaths reported in Europe alone.
India, Pakistan and large parts of Asia and North America also experienced dangerous heatwaves.
Saulo said the impacts were being felt across multiple regions, including devastating floods in parts of South America and Africa, and drought affecting countries in Asia, the Pacific and Central America.
She also pointed to disasters in China and Nepal as evidence of the risks posed by high-mountain hazards to communities downstream.
As countries meet at COP31, Saulo called for urgent decisions and sustained investment in climate monitoring, forecasting and early warning systems.
She said the number of countries reporting multi-hazard early warning systems had increased from 56 in 2015 to 136 in 2025, demonstrating that international cooperation could deliver results.
The WMO will use COP31 to assess progress towards the Early Warnings for All initiative, which aims to ensure everyone is protected by life-saving early warning systems.
“Delivering life-saving early warnings for all is not just a UN initiative. It is a response to an existential threat to the world,” Saulo said.
“The question is not what we are going to do as a UN system, but what are we going to do collectively as humanity.”
However, she stressed that early warning systems depended on reliable weather observations and scientific data, requiring continued investment in global monitoring networks.
Saulo said decades of investment in the global observing system had helped scientists forecast the developing El Niño well in advance.
Her message to COP31 governments was that maintaining these systems was critical as climate risks increased.
“Our message to COP31 is that sustained observations from every part of the world are more important than ever,” she said.
“We cannot afford to fly blind.”
She urged governments to make urgent decisions at COP31 and provide the funding needed to address the growing climate threat….PACNEWS