In a joint report with the Copernicus Climate Change Service, the WMO highlights key changes across Europe, which is the world’s fastest warming continent, with temperatures rising twice as fast as the global average.
Key results from the study show that at least 95 percent of Europe experienced above-average annual temperatures in 2025.
Records broken
There was also a record three-week heatwave affecting the subarctic peninsulas in Scandinavia, with temperatures near and within the Arctic Circle exceeding 30°C.
Europe’s annual sea surface temperature was also the highest ever recorded, with 86 percent of the region experiencing “strong” marine heat waves, or worse.
At the same time, wildfires burned more than a million hectares, the largest area ever recorded, while river flows were below average for 11 months of the year across Europe.
Lebanon: Global food security experts warn 1 in 4 people suffer from acute hunger
One in four people in Lebanon faces acute hunger as clashes continue in the south of the country between Hezbollah militants and Israeli forces.
The alert from experts from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) platform, a UN partner, indicates that all population groups in Lebanon now face a situation of “sharp deterioration”, driven by renewed hostilities and widespread displacement since the beginning of March.
Acute food insecurity
In total, it is feared that around 1.2 million people could suffer high levels of acute food insecurity between now and August.
The alert is worse than previous forecasts and marks a “substantial increase” compared to the 874,000 people who were acutely food insecure between the end of 2025 and March of this year.
The report includes 725,000 Lebanese residents in what the CPI describes as “crisis” conditions, where households face high acute malnutrition or are forced to sell their assets to obtain a minimum amount of food.
In addition, more than 460,000 Syrian and Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and 50,000 people who have arrived from Syria since December 2024 are in crisis.
UN peacekeepers deployed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been rapidly deployed in Djugu, Ituri province, in response to an attack by armed rebels against Congolese armed forces and civilians.
In coordination with the Congolese armed forces, “blue helmets” serving in MONUSCO rescued 191 civilians, including 59 women and 126 children, and safely relocated them to a site for displaced persons.
Since February, the mission has been coordinating closely with the Congolese armed forces to deploy patrols and deter armed groups in North Kivu, as part of Operation Nyundo II.
Large scale displacement
The humanitarian situation in the territory of Masisi, in the province of North Kivu, continues to deteriorate amid new clashes between armed groups.
Since early February, escalating violence has led to large-scale displacement, with people forced to flee on multiple occasions.
By mid-April, more than 170,000 people in the Masisi health zone had been displaced, while several villages had been completely emptied of their inhabitants, according to UN partners on the ground.
In this context, conditions in reception areas remain precarious, putting a strain on already overstretched basic services. Civilians urgently need food, shelter, water, sanitation and health care.