This 2014 edition of WMO’s internationally recognized series provides an overview of the key climate events of the year and an in-depth analysis of regional trends as part of a WMO drive to provide more information at regional and national levels to support adaptation to climate variability and change. 

This Statement draws on data provided by leading global and regional climate centres and research institutes as well as National Meteorological and Hydrological Services. It is published in the six official WMO languages in order to reach a broader audience. 

Although by a very small margin, 2014 was nominally the warmest year on record, and a continuation of the warming trend over the past few decades, with 14 of the 15 hottest years on record occurring this century. The WMO Statement on the Status of the Global Climate in 2014 reports that global-average sea-surface temperatures for 2014 were warmer than for any previous year on record. 

This Statement also highlights extremes that occurred in 2014 at the national and regional levels – for example, an unusually warm weather in Europe, severe flooding and flash floods in many countries, particularly in the Balkans, South Asia, and parts of Africa and South and Central America, and an absence of El Niño, typically associated with elevated global temperatures which poses important scientific questions demanding further research.

World Meteorological Organization (WMO), 2015

WMO statement on the status of the global climate in 2014
https://www.wmo.int/media/sites/default/files/1152_en.pdf