World Meteorological Organization: 2017 on track to be 1 of 3 warmest years on record

"Hot town, summer in the city" is more than just musical summer grooving this year. 2017 is shaping up to be one of the warmest on record.

The UN's Meteorological Organization said Monday, November 6th in Germany 2017 is on track to be one of the three hottest years, on the heels of 2015 and 2016 for highest world temperatures.

The "El Nino" weather phenomenon also contributed to the rise in those years.

The WMO says the global mean temperature from January to September 2017 was about a half-degree Celsius warmer than the 1981-2010 average, and the meteorological secretary-general issued a dire warning for more disasters and the possibility for harmful consequences for centuries more.

"2017 is among the three warmest years on record, and the last two years, the temperatures were boosted by a fairly strong El Nino event, and if we compare 2014 which was before this El Nino, and 2017, which we are observing this year, we are far, far above 2014. So this global warming is continuing, and that's very much because of the increase of greenhouse gases, and especially, especially carbon dioxide," Petteri Taalas said. "This negative trend is expected to continue for the coming 50 years anyhow, so that means a growing amount of disasters, and a growing amount of these less comfortable records. So, that's come to... and if we are able, if we are successful in implementation of the Paris agreement around the 2060s, we could see a phase-out of this, but if not, of course, this negative trend will continue even for thousands of years. So, the lifetime of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is very long."

The news on global temperatures came as 25,000 scientists, envoys, lobbyists and environmental activists were in Bonn, Germany to determine how to turn the goals of the 2015 Paris Climate Change Accord into reality.