2027 will be the hottest year in history

The United Nations World Meteorological Organization warned in a report that the world is very close to recording the hottest year ever before the end of the current decade, in light of the accelerating repercussions of the climate change crisis and the rise in emissions resulting from fossil fuels.

It also warned that the year 2027 will break records in terms of temperatures, becoming the hottest ever in history. The World Meteorological Organization indicated that the wave of global warming will continue in the coming years, expecting global temperatures to remain at record levels or close to historical numbers between 2026 and 2030.

A report prepared by the British Meteorological Office for the organization and published by The Guardian newspaper indicated that there is an 86% chance that one of the years between 2026 and 2030 will exceed the record set in 2024 as the hottest year in modern history. The report also said it was 75% likely that average global temperatures during that period would exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial revolution levels.

The report explained that the “El Niño” climate phenomenon expected during the coming period may lead to breaking the global temperature record early, perhaps by 2027, as a result of releasing more heat stored in the Pacific Ocean into the atmosphere.

The Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Simon Steele, stressed that the severe heat waves that Europe is currently witnessing represent a “harsh reminder” of the worsening effects of the climate crisis on the humanitarian and economic levels, noting that other regions of the world, including India and large parts of Asia, are facing similar harsh climate conditions.

Scientists also warned that exceeding the threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius will lead to an increase in the severity of heat waves, droughts, storms and floods, which will make the ability of societies to adapt more difficult, although reducing any part of global warming contributes to reducing the damage.

The report indicated that the chances of average global warming exceeding two degrees Celsius during any single year between 2026 and 2030 are still very low, less than 1%, but the continued rise in emissions threatens to exacerbate climate risks in the future.

The report also expects that temperatures in the Arctic will rise at a rate more than three times higher than the global average in the coming years, with noticeable changes in rainfall rates, as areas in northern Europe, the African coast, and Siberia are likely to witness higher than usual precipitation rates, compared to drier conditions in the Amazon region.