WMO Statement on the Status of the Global Climate in 2014
World Meteorological Organization, WMO-No. 1152 : March 2015 :: 24 pages
Report pdf: https://www.wmo.int/media/sites/default/files/1152_en.pdf

Foreword
The warming trend observed over the past few decades continued in 2014, which WMO has ranked as nominally the warmest year since modern instrumental measurements began in the mid-1800s. Although 2014 broke the record by only a few hundredths of a degree – less than the margin of uncertainty – this result means that 14 of the 15 hottest years on record occurred during the twenty-first century. The evidence for human-induced global warming is therefore increasingly robust.

Although discussions of climate change focus primarily on atmospheric warming near the Earth’s surface – which is, of course, where we live our lives – the warming of the ocean is also critically important. This is because the ocean absorbs over 93 per cent of the excess heat trapped by rising atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases. The WMO Statement on the Status of the Global Climate in 2014 reports that global-average sea-surface temperatures for 2014 were warmer than for any previous year on record. We need to maintain and even strengthen our ocean observing systems in order to better understand sea-temperature trends and their implications for long-term climate change.

This Statement also highlights extremes that occurred in 2014 at the national and regional levels. Europe, for example, was unusually warm, with 19 countries reporting record temperatures for the year. Severe flooding and flash floods occurred in many countries, particularly in the Balkans, South Asia, and parts of Africa and South and Central America.

Natural climate variability creates such extremes every year, but the high incidence of flooding around the world is consistent with an accelerated hydrological cycle driven by the additional energy captured in the atmosphere by greenhouse gases. As a result of improved scientific understanding and modelling techniques, good progress has been made on attributing certain observed climate extremes and weather events to human-induced climate change. WMO is working with its Members and leading scientific organizations to further advance attribution research with a view to incorporating it into operational climate services in the near future.

Despite expectations that an El Niño could develop, the event did not materialize, making 2014 a neutral El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) year. El Niño is typically associated with elevated global temperatures. Not only does this mean that 2014 was exceptionally warm despite not being an El Niño year, but the failure of ENSO to mature poses important scientific questions demanding further research. Another interesting phenomenon in 2014 was the behaviour of the seas around Antarctica. While parts of Antarctica’s land-based glaciers are melting, the sea ice expanded to a record extent for the third year in a row. Again, this is an exciting and important area for continued observation and research.

This Statement draws on data provided by leading global and regional climate centres and research institutes as well as National Meteorological and Hydrological Services. It is published in the six official WMO languages in order to reach a broader audience.

Press Release
Global Climate in 2014 marked by extreme heat and flooding
23 March 2015
Report Released for World Meteorological Day: Climate Knowledge for Climate Action
Record ocean heat, high land-surface temperatures and devastating flooding were some of the defining characteristics of the global climate in 2014, which was nominally the warmest year on record, although by a very small margin, according to a detailed analysis by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

The WMO Statement on the Status of the Global Climate in 2014 confirmed the continuation of the warming trend over the past few decades, with 14 of the 15 hottest years on record occurring this century.