Global temperature · updated 29 October 2026
Global temperature today: how much has the Earth warmed?
The world's average temperature over the past 12 months was 1.51 °C above the pre-industrial average. 2026 so far: +1.52 °C (would rank #2). Latest day (29 October 2026): +1.88 °C.
Global temperature, annual average (°C above 1850–1900)
1880 → 2025. Each stripe is one year's average global temperature, from blue (cooler) to red (warmer). Data: NASA GISTEMP v4. Concept: Ed Hawkins, #ShowYourStripes.
The climate spiral: global temperature by month, 1880–2026
Daily global temperature, last two years (°C above 1850–1900)
The hottest years on record
- 2024: +1.60 °C
- 2023: +1.48 °C
- 2025: +1.47 °C
- 2016: +1.32 °C
- 2020: +1.31 °C
- 2019: +1.28 °C
- 2017: +1.22 °C
- 2022: +1.18 °C
- 2021: +1.16 °C
- 2018: +1.14 °C
Copernicus ERA5, calendar-year averages vs 1850–1900 (record starts 1940).
What it means, according to scientists
The IPCC concludes that human activities, mainly burning fossil fuels, have“unequivocally caused global warming”. Natural factors such as the sun and volcanoes cannot explain the rise; on their own they would have produced roughly no change since 1850–1900.
Every fraction of a degree matters. The IPCC finds that each increment of warming makes heatwaves, heavy rainfall, droughts and fire weather more frequent and more intense — and that several of these hazards will occur at the same time and in the same places.
Year-to-year values move up and down with El Niño and La Niña, but the long-term trend is now about 0.27 °C per decade, the fastest since instrumental records began (Forster et al. 2025).
Sources: IPCC AR6 Synthesis Report, Summary for Policymakers (A.1, B.2);Forster et al. (2025), Indicators of Global Climate Change 2024.
Frequently asked questions
What is the global temperature right now?
On 29 October 2026 the global average surface air temperature was 14.95 °C, about 1.88 °C warmer than the 1850–1900 average for the same time of year (Copernicus ERA5, preliminary).
What was the hottest year on record?
2024 is the warmest calendar year in the Copernicus ERA5 record, at 1.60 °C above pre-industrial. NASA, NOAA, the UK Met Office and Berkeley Earth also rank 2024 first.
Have we already passed 1.5 °C of global warming?
Single years have exceeded 1.5 °C, but the Paris Agreement goal refers to warming averaged over about 20 years. On that measure the world is at roughly 1.3–1.4 °C today, and is expected to cross 1.5 °C around the early 2030s unless emissions fall rapidly (IPCC AR6; Forster et al. 2025).
Why are there different numbers from NASA, NOAA and Copernicus?
Each group combines thermometer, ship, buoy and satellite data differently and uses different reference periods. The trends agree closely; individual years usually differ by less than 0.1 °C. We show Copernicus ERA5 and NASA GISTEMP side by side.
What does “pre-industrial” mean?
Scientists use the 1850–1900 average as a proxy for the climate before large-scale fossil fuel use. It is the baseline used by the IPCC and the Paris Agreement.
Source:Copernicus Climate Pulse (ERA5); NASA GISS Surface Temperature Analysis (GISTEMP v4)
Licence: ERA5: CC BY 4.0, 'Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information' (values modified: offset added, annual means). GISTEMP: public domain.
Latest data: 29 October 2026 · Checked: 31 October 2026 ·Download CSV · Methodology