UN Sounds Alarm as El Niño Threatens Climate Stability

Mon Mar 23 2026 07:09:44 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

The UN's World Meteorological Organization has raised concerns over unprecedented climate imbalances and the impending El Niño, warning of record heat and further environmental impacts.

The UN warns that the Earth's climate is in a state of unprecedented imbalance, primarily due to greenhouse gas emissions. The World Meteorological Organization reports record heat energy accumulation, which could exacerbate conditions as the El Niño phenomenon approaches. Calls for a shift toward renewable energy are intensified as the climate crisis escalates.

The Earth's climate is further out of balance than at any time in recorded history, the UN's weather agency has warned.

The World Meteorological Organization says that our planet is gaining much more heat energy than it can release, driven by emissions of warming gases such as carbon dioxide.

This record 'energy imbalance' heated the ocean to new heights last year and continued to melt our planet's ice caps.

Scientists fear that a natural warming phase called El Niño – expected to begin later this year - could soon bring further heat records.

In response to the report, UN Secretary General António Guterres reiterated his call for countries to move away from fossil fuels to renewable energy to deliver climate security, energy security and national security.

Planet Earth is being pushed beyond its limits. Every key climate indicator is flashing red, he warned, in a typically punchy video address.

The last 11 years were the Earth's 11 warmest years in records stretching back to 1850, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) says.

In 2025, global average air temperatures were about 1.43C above those of pre-industrial times - before humans started burning large amounts of fossil fuels.

While scientists are still working out exactly why the Earth has accumulated so much extra heat over the past decade or so, they have no doubt that heat-trapping greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) are the root cause of the imbalance.

Levels of CO2 in the atmosphere are at their highest for at least two million years, the WMO says, due to human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels.

Some of the extra energy trapped by these gases warms the atmosphere and the land, as well as melting the planet's ice. More than 90% of the Earth's extra energy heats the oceans, which in turn harms marine life, drives more intense storms and contributes to sea-level rise.

Rapid analysis by scientists at the World Weather Attribution group found that the intensity of current heatwaves would have been virtually impossible without human-caused climate change. Researchers are closely watching the Pacific Ocean, with forecasts suggesting that a warming El Niño phase could form in the second half of 2026, potentially pushing temperatures to new heights into 2027.