The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has released its State of the Global Climate report for 2023, confirming this year will be the hottest year on record, continuing the trend that began in 2015.

“Greenhouse gas levels are record high. Global temperatures are record high. Sea level rise is record high. Antarctic sea ice is record low. It’s a deafening cacophony of broken records,” said WMO Secretary-General Prof. Petteri Taalas. While the report primarily describes the various global climate metrics, it does emphasize the socioeconomic impacts of these extreme trends. The effects of food security, population displacement, and the general security of vulnerable populations were all exacerbated by these trends, making complex situations across the globe even worse. In order to increase the time to respond to and reduce the consequences of these trends, the authors urged governments to invest in effective multi-hazard early warning systems, all the way down to the local level. Read more at WMO.