--- title: 2018 On Track To Be Fourth Hottest Year On Record description: The average global temperature for the period between January and October was close to 1°C above the pre-industrial baseline (1850-1900). canonical: https://time.com/5466681/climate-change-hottest-year/ author: George Steer article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-11-29T12:50:14.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T22:09:34.014Z article:section: Science og:title: 2018 On Track To Be Fourth Hottest Year on Record og:description: And the 20 warmest years have all occurred in the past 22 years og:url: https://time.com/5466681/climate-change-hottest-year/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfb866c3c438f82ec/6989403e656a3f9063bd6199/2018-hottest-year.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 2018 Hottest Year og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 2018 On Track To Be Fourth Hottest Year on Record twitter:description: And the 20 warmest years have all occurred in the past 22 years twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfb866c3c438f82ec/6989403e656a3f9063bd6199/2018-hottest-year.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 2018 Is On Track To Be the Fourth Hottest Year On Record, Scientists Say by [George Steer](https://time.com/author/george-steer/) ## George Steer Nov 29, 2018 12:50 PM UTC  A strong wind blows embers around a resident hosing his burning property during the Creek Fire on December 5, 2017 in Sunland, California. A strong wind blows embers around a resident hosing his burning property during the Creek Fire on December 5, 2017 in Sunland, California.David McNew—Getty Images by [George Steer](https://time.com/author/george-steer/) ## George Steer Nov 29, 2018 12:50 PM UTC 2018 is on track to be the fourth hottest year on record, according to the World Meteorological Organization. The average global temperature for the period between January and October was close to 1°C above the pre-industrial baseline (1850-1900), the WHO says. The figures are based on five independently maintained global temperature data sets. In its State of the Global Climate [report](http://ane4bf-datap1.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wmocms/s3fs-public/ckeditor/files/Draft%5FStatement%5F26%5F11%5F2018%5Fv12%5Fapproved%5Fjk.pdf?NKxFEzQf%5FoC80ccPsdsMDUIFw5EdKJDl), released Nov. 29, the WMO goes on to state that the 20 warmest years on record have all occurred in the past 22 years. The hottest four have all come in the past four years. “Every fraction of a degree of warming makes a difference to human health and access to food and fresh water, to the extinction of animals and plants, to the survival of coral reefs and marine life,” [said](https://public.wmo.int/en/media/press-release/climate-change-signals-and-impacts-continue-2018) WMO Deputy Secretary-General Elena Manaenkova. “It makes a difference to economic productivity, food security, and to the resilience of our infrastructure and cities. It makes a difference to the speed of glacier melt and water supplies, and the future of low-lying islands and coastal communities. Every extra bit matters.” The report says that a weak [La Niña](https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/ninonina.html) event early in 2018 contributed to the slight cooling relative to 2017\. La Niña is a weather phenomenon associated with lower temperatures, while El Niño is associated with higher temperatures. The WMO says there is a [high chance](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-46347451) of a weak El Niño forming within the next three months, meaning 2019 is likely to be warmer than 2018. “We are not on track to meet climate change targets and rein in temperature increases,” [said](https://public.wmo.int/en/media/press-release/climate-change-signals-and-impacts-continue-2018) WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas. “Greenhouse gas concentrations are once again at record levels and if the current trend continues we may see temperature increases 3-5°C by the end of the century. If we exploit all known fossil fuel resources, the temperature rise will be considerably higher.” “It is worth repeating once again that we are the first generation to fully understand climate change and the last generation to be able to do something about it,” said Taalas. The WMO’s report follows a [comprehensive government study](http://time.com/5462102/climate-change-report-trump-science/) from a group of U.S. climate scientists that found climate change is a serious threat to the U.S. economy. President Donald Trump, who has often disregarded researchers’ dire climate warnings despite mounting evidence, later [dismissed](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46351940) the findings of his own scientists, saying “I don’t believe it.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5466681/climate-change-hottest-year/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5466681/climate-change-hottest-year/"},"headline":"2018 Is On Track To Be the Fourth Hottest Year On Record, Scientists Say","datePublished":"2018-11-29T12:50:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T22:09:34.014Z","description":"And the 20 warmest years have all occurred in the past 22 years","url":"https://time.com/5466681/climate-change-hottest-year/","keywords":["climate","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfb866c3c438f82ec/6989403e656a3f9063bd6199/2018-hottest-year.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"George Steer","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/george-steer/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfb866c3c438f82ec/6989403e656a3f9063bd6199/2018-hottest-year.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"2018 Hottest Year","caption":"2018 Hottest Year","creditText":"David McNew—Getty Images","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/climate/","name":"climate"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5466681/climate-change-hottest-year/","name":"2018 Is On Track To Be the Fourth Hottest Year On Record, Scientists Say"}}]}] ```