When it was agreed in 2015, the Paris Agreement set a target of trying to keep the average human-induced temperature increase to no more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
So the latest results from the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service are all the more concerning: last month's average global surface air temperature, 16.96°C, was 1.65°C higher than before industrialisation kick-started global warming.
This article details how effects have been felt across the globe, with severe droughts recorded in Europe and wildfires raging in countries ranging from Indonesia to Belgium.
Temperature records will continue tumbling as long as the world struggles to limit greenhouse gas emissions.
Those struggles were illustrated by figures released last month by Climate Trace, a not-for-profit organisation co-founded by Al Gore, the former US vice president.
According to the consortium’s data, carbon emissions for the first six months of this year were 0.2 per cent up on those during the same period in 2025, indicating that global emissions have yet to peak, let alone start falling on the scale required to meet the Paris Agreement’s targets.
As temperatures rise, the current El Nino, a weather phenomenon in which higher surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific have knock-on effects elsewhere, is set to be particularly intense and could lead to warmer conditions in areas such as Europe.
In the Gulf region, however, a more likely impact could be increases in rainfall, including a heightened risk of extreme precipitation.
As this article outlines, effects from El Nino may be seen in October and November, and from March to May.
With many parts of the Gulf at risk of flooding when it rains heavily (although the UAE has taken measures to improve drainage since the 2024 floods), heavy rainfall in autumn and spring could have a significant impact.
Scientists have emphasised, however, that there is no guarantee that conditions will be wetter than normal, as sometimes rainfall in the region has been below average during an El Nino, and the National Centre of Meteorology has tried to calm concerns on social media about what might happen.
UAE research could provide an early warning of glacier collapses in Nepal
The devastating floods in Nepal and China’s Tibet have killed well over 1,000 people and left at least 5,000 missing.
Climate change may have played a role in events, because the thawing of permafrost and melting of glaciers increases the risk of devastating landslides and glacial collapse of the kind that sparked the floods.
In Nepal, there is little in the way of early-warning systems to indicate which areas are at risk of an imminent catastrophe.
But, as reported in this article, a research initiative led by Khalifa University scientists in Abu Dhabi could pinpoint the most vulnerable areas in the Himalayas, potentially increasing the chances that communities could be given advance warning of potential disasters.
How traditional wind towers could inspire others
As temperatures increase, the typical response today is to rely on air conditioning to keep things cool indoors.
However, traditional homes in the UAE often remained cool without AC, thanks to passive cooling measures.
As this article by Tim Stickings discusses, homes were often made from coral stone, which does not absorb as much heat as some other materials, and a wind tower or barjeel was a popular feature.
As the article reveals, a project involving Arab and German scientists is analysing old-style architecture in the UAE, Oman and Algeria, as the traditional approaches may prove useful in, for example, today’s Europe.
The National reported on the project as President Sheikh Mohamed made an official visit to Germany.
The big fact
Last month the hottest ever daily global average sea surface temperature outside the polar regions was recorded at 21.11ºC on August 22, according to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.
Jargon buster
Barjeel: These are the wind towers, sometimes reaching 15 metres off the ground, that cool traditional buildings in the UAE by funnelling a breeze down and allowing air from below to escape through separate vents. Typically they are square, but Sharjah has a celebrated circular barjeel.
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