--- title: UN Weather Agency: 'Fundamental Change' in Global Climate description: Worldwide temperatures for May was 1.67 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the 1951-1980 average canonical: https://time.com/4367970/wmo-un-climate-warming-global-nasa/ author: Tara John article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-06-14T12:38:55.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T22:35:20.808Z article:section: Science og:title: UN Weather Agency: 'Fundamental Change' in Global Climate og:description: Worldwide temperatures for May was 1.67 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the 1951-1980 average og:url: https://time.com/4367970/wmo-un-climate-warming-global-nasa/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0e81e280e0647996/698897afa988caabfd6b8388/weather-climate-change-global-warming.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Children play cricket in the dried-up Chandola Lake on a hot summer day in Ahmedabad og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: UN Weather Agency: 'Fundamental Change' in Global Climate twitter:description: Worldwide temperatures for May was 1.67 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the 1951-1980 average twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0e81e280e0647996/698897afa988caabfd6b8388/weather-climate-change-global-warming.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The UN's Weather Agency Warns of 'Fundamental Change' in Climate by [Tara John](https://time.com/author/tara-john/) ## Tara John Jun 14, 2016 12:38 PM UTC  Children play cricket in the dried-up Chandola Lake on a hot summer day in Ahmedabad, India on May 27, 2016. Children play cricket in the dried-up Chandola Lake on a hot summer day in Ahmedabad, India on May 27, 2016.Amit Dave—Reuters by [Tara John](https://time.com/author/tara-john/) ## Tara John Jun 14, 2016 12:38 PM UTC Pointing to data released on Monday that May was the hottest on record, the UN weather agency warned of “[fundamental change](http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/weather-agency-warns-global-warming-39839572)” unfolding in the global climate. The World Meteorological Organization’s Tuesday warning, reports the _Associated Press_[,](http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/weather-agency-warns-global-warming-39839572) was based on the Northern Hemisphere spring being the hottest ever and NASA’s data showing May was the hottest on record. According NASA’s data, worldwide temperatures for May was [1.67 degrees Fahrenheit](http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/tabledata%5Fv3/GLB.Ts+dSST.txt) warmer than the 1951-1980 average. > [](https://twitter.com/WMO/status/742695243200532480) Speaking to _Associated Press_, WMO climate director Dr. David Carlson says the data showed warm or warmer-than-average temperatures for 370 straight months worldwide. The agency said [El Niño](http://time.com/4298178/climate-change-weather-americans/) is only partly to blame for the recent rise in temperatures and noted that particularly high heat in the Arctic has caused an early onset of the annual melting of sea ice. According to NASA’s data, [every month this year](http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/tabledata%5Fv3/GLB.Ts+dSST.txt) has seen record warmth, with global temperatures [in February](http://time.com/4367093/summer-heat-climate-change/) being the most above average since record-keeping began. \[[_AP_](http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/weather-agency-warns-global-warming-39839572)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4367970/wmo-un-climate-warming-global-nasa/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4367970/wmo-un-climate-warming-global-nasa/"},"headline":"The UN's Weather Agency Warns of 'Fundamental Change' in Climate","datePublished":"2016-06-14T12:38:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T22:35:20.808Z","description":"Worldwide temperatures for May was 1.67 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the 1951-1980 average","url":"https://time.com/4367970/wmo-un-climate-warming-global-nasa/","keywords":["Environment","climate"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0e81e280e0647996/698897afa988caabfd6b8388/weather-climate-change-global-warming.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tara John","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tara-john/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0e81e280e0647996/698897afa988caabfd6b8388/weather-climate-change-global-warming.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Children play cricket in the dried-up Chandola Lake on a hot summer day in Ahmedabad","caption":"Children play cricket in the dried-up Chandola Lake on a hot summer day in Ahmedabad, India on May 27, 2016.","creditText":"Amit Dave—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/environment/","name":"Environment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4367970/wmo-un-climate-warming-global-nasa/","name":"The UN's Weather Agency Warns of 'Fundamental Change' in Climate"}}]}] ```