The Earth’s climate is more out of balance than at any time in observed history by World Meteorological Organization, agencies 11:38am 24th Mar, 2026   23 Mar. 2026    The Earth’s climate is more out of balance than at any time in observed history, as greenhouse gas concentrations drive continued warming of the atmosphere and ocean and melting of ice, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). These rapid and large-scale changes have occurred within a few decades but will have harmful repercussions for hundreds – and potentially thousands – of years.    WMO’s State of the Global Climate report 2025 confirms that 2015-2025 are the hottest 11-years on record, and that 2025 was the second or third hottest year on record, at about 1.43 °C above the 1850-1900 average.    Extreme events around the world, including intense heat, heavy rainfall and tropical cyclones, caused disruption and devastation and highlighted the vulnerability of our inter-connected economies and societies.    “The State of the Global Climate is in a state of emergency. Planet Earth is being pushed beyond its limits. Every key climate indicator is flashing red,” said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.    “Humanity has just endured the eleven hottest years on record. When history repeats itself eleven times, it is no longer a coincidence. It is a call to act,” said Mr Guterres.    Ko Barrett, Deputy Secretary-General, World Meteorological Organization:    “Our report confirms that 2025 was among the hottest years ever recorded, about 1.43 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial baseline, and part of an unprecedented streak where the past eleven years have all ranked as the warmest on record. What is particularly concerning is that this warming is not just reflected in temperatures but across the entire climate system. We are seeing glaciers continue to retreat, oceans warming at record levels, and sea levels rising as a result of both thermal expansion and melting ice.    At the same time, extreme events such as heatwaves, heavy rainfall, and tropical cyclones are affecting virtually every continent, showing how societies are already experiencing the impacts of climate change in real time.”    For the first time, the report includes the Earth’s energy imbalance as one of the key climate indicators.    The Earth’s energy balance measures the rate at which energy enters and leaves the Earth system. Under a stable climate, incoming energy from the sun is about the same as the amount of outgoing energy.    However, increasing concentrations of heat-trapping greenhouse gases - carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide - to their highest level in at least 800,000 years have upset this equilibrium.    The Earth’s energy imbalance has increased since its observational record began in 1960, particularly in the past 20 years. It reached a new high in 2025.    “Scientific advances have improved our understanding of the Earth’s energy imbalance and of the reality facing our planet and our climate right now,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo. “Human activities are increasingly disrupting the natural equilibrium and we will live with these consequences for hundreds and thousands of years.”    “On a day-to-day basis, our weather has become more extreme. In 2025, heatwaves, wildfires, drought, tropical cyclones, storms and flooding caused thousands of deaths, impacted millions of people and caused billions in economic losses,” said Celeste Saulo.    Data from individual monitoring stations show that levels of three main greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide – continued to increase in 2025. In 2024 – the last year for which we have consolidated global observations - the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide reached its highest level in the last 2 million years, and methane and nitrous oxide in at least last 800 000 years.    The increase in the annual carbon dioxide concentration (CO2) in 2024 was the largest annual increase since modern measurements began in 1957. This was driven by continued fossil CO2 emissions, and reduced effectiveness of land and ocean carbon sinks.    The past eleven years, 2015–2025, were the eleven warmest years on record.    The ocean continues to warm and absorb carbon dioxide. It has been absorbing the equivalent of about eighteen times the annual human energy use each year for the past two decades. Annual sea ice extent in the Arctic was at or near a record low, Antarctic sea ice extent was the third lowest on record, and glacier melt continued unabated, according to the report.    In 2025, ocean heat content (to a depth of 2,000 metres) reached the highest level since the start of records in 1960, exceeding the previous high set in 2024. Over the past nine years, each year has set a new record for ocean heat content.    Climate change has wide-ranging impacts on mortality, livelihoods, ecosystems and health systems and amplifies risks such as vector- and water-borne diseases, especially among vulnerable populations.    Dengue stands out as the world’s fastest-growing mosquito-borne disease. According to the World Health Organization, about half the world’s population is at risk and reported case are currently the highest ever recorded.    Heat stress is a growing problem. Over one-third of the global workforce (1.2 billion people) face workplace heat risk at some point each year, especially those in agriculture and construction. In addition to health impacts, this leads to productivity and livelihood losses.    A supplement to the report provides a snapshot of extreme events, based on inputs from WMO Members, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), World Food Programme (WFP) and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), focusing on the meteorological aspects and the impacts related to displacement and food security.    Extreme weather has cascading impacts on agricultural production. Climate-driven food insecurity is now seen as a risk, with cascading effects on social stability, migration and biosecurity through the spread of plant pests and animal diseases.    It also continues to drive new, onward and protracted displacement of people globally, with particularly severe consequences in fragile and conflict-affected regions.    The cascading and compounding impacts of multiple disasters severely limit the ability of vulnerable communities to prepare for, recover from and adapt to shocks.    http://wmo.int/news/media-centre/earths-climate-swings-increasingly-out-of-balance http://wmo.int/publication-series/state-of-global-climate/state-of-global-climate-2025 http://www.unognewsroom.org/story/en/3060/wmo-presser-state-of-the-global-climate-2025-report/9190 http://www.ipsnews.net/2026/03/world-heating-faster-than-expected-scientists-sound-alarm-in-latest-un-report/    http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2026/03/un-experts-urge-states-support-general-assembly-resolution-operationalising http://www.coe.int/en/web/commissioner/-/climate-action-and-accountability-for-survival http://www.hrw.org/news/2026/03/16/governments-should-support-vanuatus-un-climate-resolution http://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2026/02/global-governments-must-use-new-un-general-assembly-resolution-to-turn-icjs-advisory-opinion-on-climate-change-into-robust-action    16 Mar. 2026    War-driven energy price spikes highlight value of renewables: UN climate chief    The disruption of global energy supplies is being felt worldwide, the UN’s top climate change official warned, as conflict in the Middle East drives oil and gas prices sharply higher – echoing the market turmoil triggered by the war in Ukraine.    Speaking at the 2026 Green Growth Summit in Brussels, Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), said the volatility underscored the strategic value of renewable energy.    “Renewables turn the tables,” he said during a keynote address to the event, which brings together European climate and environment ministers alongside businesses, investors and other key stakeholders.    “Sunlight doesn’t depend on narrow and vulnerable shipping straits, wind blows without massive taxpayer-funded naval escorts and renewable energy allows countries to insulate themselves from global turmoil and to side-step might-is-right politics.”    Renewable energy delivers on people’s top priorities: security, well-paid jobs, better health and relief from rising living costs, he added.    “Fossil fuel dependency is ripping away national security and sovereignty and replacing it with subservience and rising costs,” he said, adding that the reality is what most voters are demanding, climate action delivers at scale. “Renewables and resilience keep bills down and create far more jobs,” he said.    “Cutting out fossil fuel pollution cleans our air, improving health and quality of life.”    “Some responses to the fossil fuel crisis, incredibly, argue for doubling down on the cause of the problem and slowing the shift to renewable energy even though it is clearly cheaper, safer, and faster to market,”    “This is completely delusional because history tells us, this fossil fuel crisis will happen again and again,” Mr. Steill said, adding that fossil fuel dependency means economies, household budgets and business bottom lines are “at the mercy of geopolitical shocks and price volatility in a chaotic world”.    His message was simple: Meek dependence on fossil fuel imports will leave countries forever lurching from crisis to crisis, with households and industries literally paying the price.    10 Mar. 2026    The Iran war has sent oil and gas prices soaring. Countries invested in renewable energy are better protected. (DW)    Countries that generate more of their power from wind, solar and other renewable sources are better protected from global energy shocks, experts say, as the escalating conflict in the Middle East rattles global markets.    The war has widened since the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran more than 10 days ago. Critical infrastructure in the region has come under attack and the risk of Iranian strikes has essentially shut down the Strait of Hormuz,the crucial waterway used to transport 20% of the world's oil and gas.    The disruption means fuel may struggle to reach the countries that depend on it to generate electricity, heat homes, power industry and run transport. The resulting supply squeeze is pushing prices higher around the world and intensifying cost-of-living pressures.    "Energy is the lifeblood of our societies and our industries," said Antony Froggatt, aviation, shipping and energy expert at Brussels-based NGO Transport & Environment. "And we're still highly dependent on fossil fuels."    The world still gets about 80% of its primary energy from fossil fuels, the main source of greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change. In his second term, US President Donald Trump has doubled down on fossil fuels, scrapping Biden-era green energy and climate regulations aimed at cutting emissions.    That dependence makes economies and societies vulnerable to geopolitical shocks, said Rana Adib, executive secretary of the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21).    Countries with a higher share of "homegrown" renewables in their energy mix are "less vulnerable to these shocks," she argued.    "Once you bring the technology into the countries, the fuel you're using is the sun, is the wind, is the heat that is local," Adib told DW. "And this is a reason why renewable energy as a solution for energy production is much more resilient to those global shocks."    Uruguay bets on wind and hydro    After the financial crisis in 2008, unease about a reliance on oil and gas imports was what drove Uruguay to go all in on renewables.    Two decades ago, the small South American country with a population of 3.5 million embarked on a plan to phase fossil fuels out of its power grid by rapidly expanding wind farms.    Today, more than 90% of the country's electricity comes from renewables — mainly wind, solar, hydropower and biofuels. That figure has reached 98% in some particularly wet and windy years.    "It shows us that a 100% renewable electricity grid is fully possible," said Adib, adding that Uruguay has managed to do so without the massive amounts of storage required for when the sun isn't shining and wind isn't blowing.    Adib said the shift to green power helped limit Uruguay's exposure to past energy price surges.    "During the energy crisis linked to the war in in Ukraine, Uruguay energy prices remained stable," Adib said. "This is extremely important because it means that the inflation does not hit this country in the same way as a country that has a high dependence on fossil fuel imports."    Adib said the investment in renewables created 50,000 jobs and has allowed the country to save $500 million in energy import costs annually. Uruguay is now moving to electrify its public transport system and decarbonize industry.    Another country that has significantly reduced reliance on fossil fuels is Denmark. The oil crisis in the 1970s hit the Scandinavian country hard, prompting it to begin developing renewables early.    Today, more than 80% of Denmark's electricity is supplied by green energy, with wind making up almost 60% of that amount, followed by biogas. The country of 6 million has cut its planet-heating emissions by half since 1990 and wants to have a fossil-fuel free electricity system by 2030.    Its district heating systems, which link up more than 65% of homes, have largely phased out coal and are planned to rely 100% on renewable biomethane by 2030.    Froggatt said having renewables dominate the grid keeps prices down, citing an IMF study showing that every 1% increase in the amount of renewables translates on average to the wholesale electricity price falling by 0.6%.    "And that's in normal circumstances. Obviously, when you have vastly inflated gas prices, then the economic advantage of renewables goes up even higher," he added.    He says that consumers will only be protected from rising oil and gas prices when things like transport and heating are fully electrified, for example, with electric vehicles and heat pumps.    High fossil fuel prices and the vulnerability of the commodities to supply bottlenecks make clean energy more competitive and financially attractive, as well as pressuring governments to find alternative solutions, say analysts.    "The current crisis shows again that we need to enter the renewable-based era and leave the fossil fuel-based era behind" if we want societies and economies that are more resilient, said Adib.    Accelerating renewables to secure a more stable energy supply will take greater investment and system change. Though green power sources are now much cheaper than fossil fuels, oil and gas are highly subsidized. Froggatt says making the switch is not just about slowing climate change, but also about energy security.    http://www.dw.com/en/iran-war-sends-oil-prices-soaring-these-countries-are-better-protected-thanks-to-renewables/a-76294122 http://unfccc.int/news/un-climate-chief-in-brussels-fossil-fuel-dependency-is-ripping-away-national-security-and http://news.un.org/en/story/2026/03/1167135 http://www.clientearth.org/latest/news/fossil-fuels-and-energy-security-what-s-the-issue/ Visit the related web page
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