Skip to main content
Open this photo in gallery:

A bird sits on a straw bale on a field in Frankfurt, Germany, as the sun rises during an heatwave on July 25, 2019.Michael Probst/The Associated Press

The UN weather agency says that the current decade is likely to set a new 10-year temperature record, adding further evidence that the world is getting hotter.

The World Meteorological Organization said on Tuesday that preliminary temperature data show the years from 2015 to 2019 and from 2010 to 2019 “are, respectively, almost certain to be the warmest five-year period and decade on record.”

In a report released on the sidelines of this year’s UN climate change conference in Madrid, the agency said this continues the trend that “since the 1980s, each successive decade has been warmer than the last.”

While full-year temperature measurements won’t be available for several more months, the agency also said that 2019 is expected to be the second or third warmest year on record.

Our Morning Update and Evening Update newsletters are written by Globe editors, giving you a concise summary of the day’s most important headlines. Sign up today.

Follow related authors and topics

Authors and topics you follow will be added to your personal news feed in Following.

Interact with The Globe