Climate Breaks Multiple Records in 2016, with Global Impacts
The year 2016 made history, with a record global temperature, exceptionally low sea ice, and unabated sea level rise and ocean heat, according to the
WMO issued its annual statement on the State of the Global Climate ahead of World Meteorological Day on 23 March. It is based on multiple international datasets maintained independently by global climate analysis centres and information submitted by dozens of WMO Members National Meteorological and
"This report confirms that the year 2016 was the warmest on record - a remarkable 1.1 degreeC above the pre-industrial period, which is 0.06 degreeC above the previous record set in 2015. This increase in global temperature is consistent with other changes occurring in the climate system," said WMO Secretary-General
"Globally averaged sea surface temperatures were also the warmest on record, global sea levels continued to rise, and Arctic sea-ice extent was well below average for most of the year," he said.
"With levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere consistently breaking new records, the influence of human activities on the climate system has become more and more evident," said Mr Taalas.
The increased power of computing tools and the availability of long term climate data have made it possible today, through attribution studies, to demonstrate clearly the existence of links between man-made climate change and many cases of high impact extreme events in particular heatwaves, he said
Each of the 16 years since 2001 has been at least 0.4 degreeC above the long-term average for the 1961-1990 base period, used by WMO as a reference for climate change monitoring. Global temperatures continue to be consistent with a warming trend of 0.1 degreeC to 0.2 degreeC per decade, according to the WMO report.
The powerful 2015/2016 El Nino event boosted warming in 2016, on top of long-term climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions. Temperatures in strong El Nino years, such as 1973, 1983 and 1998, are typically 0.1 degreeC to 0.2 degreeC warmer than background levels, and 2016's temperatures are consistent with that pattern.
Global sea levels rose very strongly during the El Nino event, with the early 2016 values reaching new record highs. Global sea ice extent dropped more than 4 million square kilometres below average in November, an unprecedented anomaly for that month.
The very warm ocean temperatures contributed to significant coral bleaching and mortality was reported in many tropical waters, with important impacts on marine food chains, ecosystems and fisheries.
Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere reached the symbolic benchmark of 400 parts per millions in 2015 - the latest year for which WMO global figures are available - and will not fall below that level for many generations to come because of the long-lasting nature of CO2.
Noteworthy extreme events in 2016 included severe droughts that brought food insecurity to millions in southern and eastern
WMO has issued annual climate reports for more than 20 years and submits them to the
It will be presented to
"The entry into force of the Paris Agreement under the
"Continued investment in climate research and observations is vital if our scientific knowledge is to keep pace with the rapid rate of climate change," said Mr Taalas.
Extremes continue in 2017
Newly released studies, which are not included in WMO's report, indicate that ocean heat content may have increased even more than previously reported. Provisional data also indicates that there has been no easing in the rate of increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations.
"Even without a strong El Nino in 2017, we are seeing other remarkable changes across the planet that are challenging the limits of our understanding of the climate system. We are now in truly uncharted territory," said World Climate Research Programme Director
At least three times so far this winter,
Scientific research indicates that changes in
Thus, some areas, including
In the
Notes to Editors
Global temperatures in this Statement are reported using the mean of the latest versions of the three datasets: GISTEMP, NOAAGlobalTemp and HadCRUT maintained respectively by the
The statement also uses information on climate impacts provided by the World Food Programme (WFP), the
At the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UNFCCC session in Marrakesh in 2016, the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technical Advice (SBSTA) welcomed the submissions from WMO: the Global Climate in 2011-2015 and the WMO Greenhouse Gas Bulletin. It invited WMO to provide submissions on the state of the global climate on a regular basis, as appropriate, at subsequent SBSTA sessions.
Other highlights of the 2016 Statement
Global Temperatures:
2016's warmth extended almost worldwide. Temperatures were above the 1961-90 average over the vast majority of the world's land areas, the only significant exceptions being an area of
Mean annual temperatures at least 3 degreeC above the 1961-1990 average occurred in various high-latitude locations, particularly along the Russian coast and in
Outside
Oceans
Globally averaged sea surface temperatures in 2016 were the warmest on record. The anomalies were strongest in the early months of 2016.
Global ocean heat content was the second-highest on record after 2015. It reached new record highs in the northern hemisphere, but was cooler in the southern hemisphere.
Globally, sea level has risen by 20 cm since the start of the twentieth century, mostly due to thermal expansion of the oceans and melting of glaciers and ice caps. Global sea levels rose very strongly during the 2015/2016 El Nino, rising about 15 millimetres between
Arctic sea ice
The seasonal maximum, of 14.52 million square kilometres on 24 March, was the lowest in the 1979-2016 satellite record. The 2016 autumn freeze-up was exceptionally slow - with sea ice extent even contracting for a few days in mid-November.
Precipitation
Much of southern
Provisional figures showed 2016 was the driest on record over the
The Yangtze basin in
Heatwaves
The year started with an extreme heatwave in southern
Extreme heat also affected South and
Record or near-record temperatures occurred in parts of the
A late-season heatwave affected many parts of western and central
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