Five-year moving average ocean heat content in the upper 700 m (orange) and 2 000 m (blue)(Source: Data from NOAA NCEI Ocean Climate Laboratory, United States, updated from Levitus et al. (2012))

(Source: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Australia)

Summer surface melting of the Greenland ice sheet continued at above-average levels, with the summer melt extent exceeding the 1981–2010 average in all five years from 2011to 2015 (Source: National Snow

and Ice Data Center/Thomas Mote, University of Georgia, United States)

GLOBAL PRECIPITATION VERY DRY IN PLACES AND WET IN OTHERS

MAJOR OSCILLATIONS SHAPED CLIMATE VARIABILITY

GLOBAL TEMPERATURE INCREASE CONTINUES

2015: Warmest year, over 1° higher than pre-Industrial period

2011-2015: Warmest five-year period

2001-2010: Warmest decade

RECORD WARMING AT OCEAN SURFACE AND SUBSURFACE

In 2015, global ocean heat content reached record levels through both the upper 700 m and 2 000 m of the oceans

SEA LEVELS CONTINUE TO RISE

Global sea levels continued to rise over the period 2011–2015.The level of interannual variability in global sea level over the period

was high by the standards of the satellite era.

WIDESPREAD MELTING OF ICE EXCEPT IN THE SOUTHERN OCEAN HIGH IMPACT EXTREMES

CONCENTRATION OF LONG-LIVED GREENHOUSE GASES

CONTINUES TO INCREASE

In 2015, the annual mean concentrations in the atmosphere of

These concentrations increased consistently throughout the period from 2011 onward.

Global five-year average temperature anomalies (relative to 1961–1990) for 2011– 2015. The analysis uses HadCRUT4 analysis produced by the Met O�ce Hadley Centre in collaboration with the Climatic Research

Unit at the University of East Anglia, United Kindgdom.

Three month running means of the sea-surface temperature anomaly in the Niño 3.4 region (the NOAA Oceanic Nino Index)

(Source: Data provided by NOAA)

Total precipitation for the period October 2012–September 2015 expressed as a percentile of the 1951–2010 reference period for areas that would have been in the driest 20%

(brown) and wettest 20% (green) of years during the reference period, with darker shades of brown and green indicating the driest and wettest 10%, respectively

(Source: Global Precipitation Climatology Centre, Deutscher Wetterdienst, Germany)

Arctic (left) and Antarctic (right) September 1979–2015 sea-ice extent measured in millions of square kilometres (Source: Data provided by the

National Snow and Ice Data Center, United States)

2015 2014

2013 2012

302520151050–5–10–15–20–25–30

302520151050–5–10–15–20–25–30

302520151050–5–10–15–20–25–30

302520151050–5–10–15–20–25–30

Melt anomaly(days)

Melt anomaly(days)

Melt anomaly(days)

Melt anomaly(days)

CO2 CH4 N2O400 parts

per million1 845 parts per billion

328 parts per billion

180 90W 0 90E 18090S

45S

0

45N

90N

–10 –5 –3 –1 –0.5 –0.2 0 0.2 5310.5 10

Temperature di�erence (°C) compared to the 1961–1990 average

5–year average

1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 Year

–10

0

10

20

Oce

an h

eat c

onte

nt (1

022 jo

ules

)

0–2 000 m

0–700 m

180 60W120W 0 120E60E 18090S

60S

30S

0

30N

60N

90N

0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9

Percentile of 1951–2010 reference period

– 0.5

– 1

– 1.5

– 2.5

– 2

0

1.5

1

2.5

2

0.5

Oce

anic

Niñ

o In

dex

(°C

)

19501950 19551955 19601960 19651965 19701970 19751975 19801980 19851985 19901990 19951995 20002000 20052005 20102010 20152015

Year

17

16

18

22

21

20

19

Exte

nt (m

illio

n km

2 )

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015

Year

3

2

5

4

8

7

6

Exte

nt (m

illio

n km

2 )

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015

Year

>7 800deaths in the Philippines

attributed to Typhoon Haiyan,

2013

>US$ 67 billion

Economic losses attributed to

Hurricane Sandy, 2012

>250 000Excess deaths attributedto drought and famine in

2011–2012 in theHorn of Africa

X10Extreme Events

Probability thatclimate change

a�ected occurrence ofmany extremes

>4 100deaths attributed to

heatwaves in Pakistan and India,

2015

– 30

– 40

0

10

– 20

30

20

– 10

50

40

Glo

bal m

ean

sea

leve

l (m

m)

Seasonal signal removedInverse barometer correction applied

Glacial isostatic ajustment (GIA) correction applied Monthly 3-month running mean Trend = 3.4 mm/yearTime span: January 1993 -> July 2016

1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016

Year

The Global Climate in 2011–2015

WMO-No. 1179

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The Global Climate in 2011-2015 is the authoritative source of information on the state of the climate and impacts. It builds on operational monitoring systems at global, regional and national scales. Countries take a participative approach. Authored by Blair Terwin and Omar Baddour, with scientific coordination provided by the WMO Commission for Climatology, it is peer reviewed and published in English, French, Spanish and Arabic.

Download at public.wmo.int

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The Status of the Global Climate in 2011-2015