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Climate8 outlets ran this3 min read

2026 on track to be hottest year as climate summit opens

World Meteorological Organization reports record temperatures and warns of accelerating warming ahead of COP31 talks.

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Published
2026 on track to be hottest year as climate summit opens

What this story says

  • The global average surface temperature for January-September 2026 was 1.47°C above the pre-industrial average, according to the World Meteorological Organization.
  • The WMO reported that the last 12 years have been the warmest on record, with the past four years being the top four.
  • The UN climate summit COP31 is being held in Antalya, Turkey, from November 9-20, 2026.
  • UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated that the world has entered a "new age of climate extremes" due to human-caused climate change colliding with a "supersized" El Niño.

The year 2026 is on course to be one of the hottest on record, driven by human-caused global warming and a significant El Niño event. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reported that the global average surface temperature from January to September 2026 was approximately 1.47°C above the pre-industrial average. This figure is expected to rise further by year's end due to the warming influence of El Niño. The WMO's State of the Climate Update 2026 also noted that the last 12 years have each been the warmest on record, with the four most recent years being the hottest.

Sea levels have reached their highest recorded point, and sea-surface temperatures have set monthly records throughout 2026. The report also highlights the ongoing retreat of glaciers, with annual ice loss in 2025 equivalent to filling five Olympic swimming pools every second. Freshwater storage has been diminishing since 2014. UN Secretary-General António Guterres described the situation as a "new age of climate extremes," where a "supersized El Niño is colliding with a planet already superheated by manmade climate change."

These findings come as countries gather for the UN climate summit, COP31, in Antalya, Turkey, from November 9 to 20, 2026. Guterres urged world leaders to accelerate emissions cuts, transition to clean energy, and provide financial and protective support for vulnerable nations.

Disagreement on 2026 temperature threshold

The Independent (US) reported that the EU's Copernicus climate service indicated 2026 was "all but certain" to exceed the 1.5°C threshold above pre-industrial levels, making it the second calendar year after 2024 to do so. None of the other reports mention this specific detail or the Copernicus climate service.

What the coverage left out

None of the left-rated or centre-rated reports mentioned the specific detail about annual ice loss in 2025 filling five Olympic swimming pools every second, a fact reported by The Independent (US) in its full report. No right-rated outlet ran this story at all.

Tags:#ClimateChange#GlobalWarming#WMO#COP31#ElNino#ExtremeWeather

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

  • The left-rated reports led with the record-breaking temperatures and the collision of human-caused warming with El Niño. The Independent (US) and The Independent highlighted that 2026 could be the hottest year on record and questioned if a "super" El Niño was to blame. They also reported the WMO's finding that the last 12 years have been the warmest on record and that the global average surface temperature for January-September 2026 was 1.47°C above the pre-industrial average. The Independent (US) also included quotes from UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who described the situation as a "new age of climate extremes" and called for faster emissions cuts. Saudi Gazette also quoted Guterres on the "new age of climate extremes" and the collision of El Niño with a superheated planet. NBC News and heimildin.is focused on the COP31 summit opening amid extreme weather and the UN Secretary-General's call for leaders to "take the climate crisis seriously" and "get serious."

Centre

  • The centre-rated report from INTELLINEWS focused on scientists predicting 2026 could be the hottest year on record as climate talks begin. It mentioned the COP31 summit opening and the prediction of record temperatures.

Right

We hold no leaning breakdown for this story, so there is nothing to report about the right.

Questions about this coverage

Is the coverage of 2026 on track to be hottest year as climate summit opens biased?
2026 on track to be hottest year as climate summit opens is one event reported by several outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
What is the global average surface temperature for 2026?
For the period of January to September 2026, the global average surface temperature was approximately 1.47°C above the pre-industrial average, according to the World Meteorological Organization. Experts suggest this figure is likely to increase by the end of the year due to the warming effect of El Niño.
When and where is COP31 taking place?
The UN climate summit, COP31, is taking place in Antalya, Turkey, from November 9 to 20, 2026. Leaders and climate representatives are gathering to discuss climate commitments, emissions, and funding for global warming effects.
What is the significance of the WMO's climate report?
The World Meteorological Organization reported that 2026 is on track to be one of the hottest years on record. It also stated that the last 12 years have been the warmest on record, with the past four years being the top four, indicating an accelerating trend of global warming.

Read it at the source

8 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

5

Centre

1

Right

0

No outlet in this group ran the story.

Not rated

2

How did this read?

About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

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