It is very likely that 2016 will be the hottest year on record, with global temperatures even higher than the record-breaking temperatures in 2015. Preliminary data shows that 2016’s global temperatures are approximately 1.2° Celsius above pre-industrial levels, according to an assessment by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

The World Meteorological Organization has published a detailed analysis of the global climate 2011-2015 – the hottest five-year period on record - and the increasingly visible human footprint on extreme weather and climate events with dangerous and costly impacts.

The World Meteorological Organization has published a detailed analysis of the global climate 2011-2015 – the hottest five-year period on record - and the increasingly visible human footprint on extreme weather and climate events with dangerous and costly impacts.

Globally averaged concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reached the symbolic and significant milestone of 400 parts per million for the first time in 2015 and surged again to new records in 2016 on the back of the very powerful El Niño event, according to the World Meteorological Organization's annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin.

This Handbook of Drought Indicators and is based on available literature and draws findings from relevant works wherever possible. The handbook addresses the needs of practitioners and policymakers and is considered as a resource guide/material for practitioners and not an academic paper.

This handbook covers some of the most commonly used drought indicators/indices that are being applied across drought-prone regions, with the goal of advancing monitoring, early warning and information delivery systems in support of risk-based drought management policies and preparedness plans.

As the world’s climate changes, hazards to human health are increasing. Droughts, floods and cyclones affect the health of millions of people each year. There is also a close relationship between climate and diseases such as diarrhea, malaria, meningitis and respiratory ailments, which cause death and suffering for many millions more.

The year 2015 will stand out in the historical record of the global climate in many ways. Modern records for heat were broken: 2015 was a record warm year both globally and in many individual countries. Heatwaves were extremely intense in various part of the world, leading to thousands of deaths in India and Pakistan.

The joint World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and World Health Organization (WHO) Climate and Health Office has issued a briefing paper about health and the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) as part of a wider WHO effort to review the current health risks and responses of the El Nino event in high risk countries.

The global average surface temperature in 2015 is likely to be the warmest on record and to reach the symbolic and significant milestone of 1° Celsius above the pre-industrial era. This is due to a combination of a strong El Niño and human-induced global warming, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).