Major report confirms record warming, and other nature and climate stories you need to read this week

Last year was likely the first calendar year to be more than 1.5°C above the pre-industrial era, a flagship report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) says.

The State of the Global Climate report also confirms that 2024 was the warmest year since records began 175 years ago, driven by human activity as well as the El Niño weather phenomenon. It also states that each of the past 10 years has consecutively been the warmest on record at the time.

Atmospheric concentration of CO2 is at the highest levels in the past 800,000 years, the report adds.

Under the Paris Agreement, adopted 10 years ago this year, countries agreed to substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions to attempt to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Every 0.1°C of warming increases the intensity and frequency of temperature and precipitation extremes, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

The WMO says its report does not indicate the goals of Paris are out of reach, and that long-term global warming is currently thought to be between 1.34 and 1.41°C compared to the 1850-1900 baseline.

However, it should be a “wake-up call” on the risks to lives, economies and the planet, it adds.

Melting glaciers are creating new coastlines in the Arctic, according to a study published in Nature.

As temperatures continue to rise, glaciers are retreating onto land and exposing thousands of kilometres of coastline in Greenland and other areas.

Newly exposed coastline can have important impacts on local ecosystems and Arctic communities, the report says.

The Arctic has warmed up to four times faster than the rest of the globe during the last 40 years, and many glaciers will not survive this century if they keep melting at the current “unprecedented speed”, according to the United Nations.

The record temperatures last year created a surge in global energy demand as more power was used for cooling, the International Energy Agency says. Global electricity consumption rose by nearly 1,100 terawatt-hours – over double the average annual increase over the past decade.

The Financial Times reports that a global trade war could hurt the world’s ability to tackle the climate crisis by limiting access to vital green technology, according to Brazil’s climate chief and COP30 chief executive, Ana Toni.

An AI weather forecasting project that could help developing nations better predict floods or rain patterns has been unveiled. Regions such as west Africa can be poorly served by global weather models, but the initiative, led by data science and AI research organization the Alan Turing Institute, could democratize forecasting by making it available on desktop computers.

The European Commission has delayed proposing a new European Union climate target, which had been planned for the first quarter of 2025. The move, which would set a 2040 target to keep countries' climate commitments on track between 2030 and 2050 emissions goals, has faced pushback from some member states.

The UK has announced that 20 million trees will be planted in the west of England as part of the creation of a new national forest. The government has committed to covering 16.5% of England with woodland by 2050.

Targeted conservation efforts are bringing species back from the brink despite overall diversity falling, researchers say. An estimated 1 million species are facing extinction due to human activities – preventative conservation measures are preferable and more cost-effective than emergency interventions, the University of Cambridge study says.

Forests are at the heart of our ecosystem and global food systems but they are under immense pressure from factors including deforestation. Collective action around conservation, agroforestry and sustainable land management can help revive this fundamental resource – here’s how.

A group of 31 cities around the globe, including in India, Poland and China, have been added to the list of ‘wetland cities’, honoured for their wetland conservation. Learn more in this video.

Globally, the water systems that sustain ecosystems, nourish communities and drive business and economic growth face unprecedented pressure – and collaborative action to tackle the impacts of water-related disruptions has never been more urgent. Read more about five essential strategies to create long-term water security.