Global climate data

It’s sometimes claimed that we are in a ‘climate emergency’. The problem is that the data doesn’t support this idea. Take a look at the datasets below (click images for more details and sources), and then also look at the official position on extreme weather, from the IPCC, at the bottom of this page.

The IPCC on extreme weather

According to the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment report, scientists can find no trends in the following weather, climate and related phenomena.

  • heavy rain

  • river floods

  • pluvial floods

  • landslides

  • hydrological drought

  • agricultural drought

  • ecological drought

  • aridity

  • fire weather

  • wind storms

  • dust storms

  • hurricanes

  • snow cover

  • snow storms

  • glaciers

  • ice sheets

  • ice storms

  • hail

  • avalanches

  • relative sea level

  • coastal floods

  • coastal erosion

  • marine heatwaves

  • ocean acidity

However, trends may have been detected for:

  • mean air temperature

  • extreme heat

  • mean ocean temperature

  • ocean salinity

  • cold spells

  • permafrost

  • dissolved oxygen

  • CO2 at surface

  • lake, river and sea ice

(Source IPCC AR6, WG1, Table 12.12. The chapter can be downloaded here. The table is on page 1856.)