The planet’s climate system is drifting dangerously out of balance, with a record energy surplus heating oceans, fuelling extreme weather and threatening food and health systems worldwide. A stark new report from the World Meteorological Organization warns that the Earth is absorbing far more energy than it releases — a growing imbalance driven largely by fossil fuel emissions. Scientists say the trend is accelerating, raising the risk of deeper and longer-lasting climate shocks. Eleven Years of Relentless Heat The report confirms the period from 2015 to 2025 as the hottest decade ever recorded. But scientists say surface temperatures tell only a fraction of the story. The heat felt by humans represents barely 1 per cent of the total energy accumulating inside the Earth system. Most of the excess heat is disappearing into the oceans — a vast reservoir now warming faster than at any time in recorded history. Oceans Absorbing the Planet’s Fever More than 90 per cent of the extra heat generated by greenhouse gases is absorbed by the oceans. Ocean heat content reached record levels last year, and the pace of warming has more than doubled over the past two decades compared with the previous half century. Scientists warn this hidden heat is altering ocean circulation and locking climate impacts into the system for centuries. Sea levels are rising faster, polar ice is shrinking and marine ecosystems — including coral reefs — are increasingly under stress. Planetary Alarm Bells Ringing The deeper problem is the disruption of the Earth’s natural energy balance. In a stable system, incoming solar radiation roughly matches the heat radiating back into space. That equilibrium has been broken by emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide — all now at levels unseen for at least 800,000 years. The imbalance has been growing since the 1960s and has surged sharply since 2005. Global Heating Set to Surge Again The political stakes are rising as climate thresholds loom closer. World leaders already accept that the goal of limiting warming to 1.5°C under the Paris Agreement will likely be breached temporarily. António Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations, warned the signals are unmistakable. “The state of the global climate is in a state of emergency,” he said. “Every key indicator is flashing red.” Scientists fear the next phase of the climate cycle — when El Niño returns later this year — could push global temperatures to new records once again. Earth being ‘pushed beyond its limits’ as energy imbalance reaches record high
