UN climate report: Last seven years were warmest on record

As the COP26 climate summit opens in Glasgow, the UN’s World Meteorological Organization says global average temperatures have been 1°C warmer than pre-industrial levels for two decades

By Adam Vaughan

The last seven years were the warmest on record, in what UN scientists say is another clear sign that climate change is “getting worse and worse”. The provisional finding comes on the same day as the COP26 climate summit opens in Glasgow, where nearly 200 countries are meeting to avoid future catastrophic warming.

The UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in a report that 2021 is currently the sixth or seventh warmest year on record, based on data to the …