Global mean temperatures near the Earth’s surface continued to set new records between 2011 and 2015, consistent with rising levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, according to preliminary findings of the assessment of the state of the climate in the current 5 years period. The year 2014 was nominally the warmest on record, with global mean temperatures 0.61 °C above the 1961-1990 reference period average. The year 2015 is continuing on a similar track, with temperatures for the period January to July at 0.70 °C above the long-term average. The climate for the rest of 2015 will be influenced by the El Niño event, which is likely to be one of the four strongest since 1950. The four-page WMO summary provides a snapshot about temperatures, extreme events, the Polar regions and sea levels.