The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) on Monday warned that 2027 could be the hottest on record, with a strong El Niño expected to bring further extreme heat.

The warning came as world leaders gathered for the UN Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Turkey, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) has reported.

WMO secretary general, Celeste Saulo, said El Niño acts as a “risk multiplier and heatwaves, tropical cyclones, and rainstorms are intensifying faster than the historical baselines.”

A new WMO report on the state of the climate shows that each of the last 12 years was the warmest since records began and that the last four years were the four warmest on record.

According to the report, the average surface temperature from January to September this year was about 1.47 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels worldwide.

The analysis’s margin of uncertainty is 0.13 degrees, meaning the world may have exceeded the critical 1.5-degree threshold. The world last exceeded that target in 2024.

According to WMO, extreme weather, which occurs more frequently due to the climate crisis, had devastating effects around the globe this year.

According to preliminary estimates, heatwaves, drought and wildfires in Europe led to more than 30,000 excess deaths this year.

Extreme heat in India in April also affected 146.5 million people, the WMO noted, while more than 1,300 people died in the glacier collapse and flash flood in the Himalayas in August.

The report notes that the global mean sea level climbed to a record high this year, which WMO experts believe could also be linked to the El Niño climate phenomenon, which shifts rainfall from the land to the sea.

READ ALSO: El Niño: Nigeria may record 31,400 heat-related deaths by February 2027 — Report
The developing El Niño, which is set to last into next year, is likely to be the strongest since 1950, Saulo said.

“The phenomenon, which occurs every few years, causes extreme weather and rising temperatures,” she added.

WMO says El Niño could push 2027 temperature higher

WMO has also warned that 2027 could set a new global temperature record as a strong El Niño compounds the effects of climate change.

According to her, the developing 2026/2027 El Niño is unusually strong, with sea-surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific forecast to approach four times the 0.5-degree threshold used to declare the climate phenomenon.

“Indeed, this 2026/2027 El Niño is off the charts. It is different from any El Niño that we have monitored,” she said.

Saulo explained that El Niño typically has its greatest influence on global temperatures the following year, raising concerns that 2027 could record another temperature high.

She said ocean heat had reached a record for the 10th consecutive year, while sea levels had also risen to unprecedented levels, increasing risks for about 900 million people living along low-lying coasts.

The WMO chief said extreme heat, tropical cyclones and rainstorms were intensifying, exposing millions of people to dangerous temperatures this year.

She cited heatwaves across India, Pakistan, Asia and North America, as well as tens of thousands of excess deaths in Europe.

Head of Climate Information at the WMO, John Kennedy, said the additional energy, heat and moisture from El Niño compounds the existing risks of long-term climate change.

Also speaking, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary, Simon Stiell, said the climate crisis was a global health emergency, with extreme heat, pollution and climate-related disasters placing pressure on health systems.

He said heatwaves during the northern summer had killed an estimated 50,000 people across Europe, while hundreds of millions were exposed to extreme heat in southern Asia.

On his part, Alan Dangour, Director of Climate and Health at Wellcome, said fossil fuel-related air pollution and extreme heat were estimated to cause more than three million deaths annually.

He said climate change was already affecting communities through extreme heat, drought and changing water conditions, with implications for food security, sanitation and livelihoods.

For Advert, Event Coverage/Press Conference Invite, Story/Article Publication & Other Media Services
Contact Us On WhatsApp
Send Email To: citizennewsng@gmail.com
Visit Citizen NewsNG To Read More Latest And Interesting News Across Nigeria And The World