By Becky Momodu
The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has warned that 2027 could become the hottest year ever recorded, as an expected strong El Niño threatens to push global temperatures to unprecedented levels.
The United Nations weather agency issued the forecast on Monday, November 9, warning that the anticipated climate phenomenon could intensify extreme heat and worsen weather conditions across the world.
WMO Secretary-General, Celeste Saulo, described El Niño as a “risk multiplier”, noting that heatwaves, tropical cyclones and rainstorms were intensifying faster than historical baselines.
The warning comes amid growing concerns over rising global temperatures, with a new WMO report showing that each of the last 12 years has been the warmest since records began, while the last four years were the four hottest on record.
According to the report, global average surface temperatures between January and September 2026 stood at approximately 1.47 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
With a margin of uncertainty of 0.13 degrees, the figure suggests that the world may have exceeded the critical 1.5-degree Celsius warming threshold, last surpassed in 2024.
The WMO’s forecast comes as world leaders gather in Turkey for the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP31, amid mounting pressure for stronger international action to tackle global warming.
