Earth's Climate and Energy Imbalance

Earth’s climate state is assessed through connected measures including greenhouse-gas concentrations, global temperature, energy imbalance, ocean heat, sea level, and ice loss.

The World Meteorological Organization and other scientific assessments use these indicators to describe how excess heat accumulates and moves through the climate system; roughly 90% of it is stored in the oceans. Ocean warming is associated with marine heatwaves, rising seas, and changes to marine ecosystems, while warming is also reflected in glacier and sea-ice decline. Taken together, the indicators show how different observations contribute to understanding the global climate system.