Heat and drought Where we are today 2018 is on course to be the fourth warmest year on record. This means that the past four years—2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018—taken together are the four warmest years on record. In contrast to the other top warmest years, 2018...
Glaciers and ice caps Where we are today Arctic sea-ice extent was well below average throughout 2018 and was at record-low levels for the first two months of the year. The annual maximum occurred in mid-March and the March monthly extent was 14.48 million...
Ocean acidification In the past decade, the oceans absorbed around 25% of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions. Absorbed carbon dioxide reacts with seawater and changes the pH of the ocean. This process is known as ocean acidification. Observations in the...
Rainfall and floods Unlike other important climate variables, there is no single indicator that can usefully summarize global precipitation changes. Indeed, some of the predicted changes in precipitation in response to climate change affect the frequency and...
