This year is on track to be one of the hottest , if not the hottest , year on record , a U.N. agency reported Wednesday , citing preliminary estimates . The estimates were released by the World Meteorological Organization to coincide with annual climate change negotiations taking place in Lima , Peru . `` What we saw in 2014 is consistent with what we expect from a changing climate . Record-breaking heat combined with torrential rainfall and floods destroyed livelihoods and ruined lives . `` What is particularly unusual and alarming this year are the high temperatures of vast areas of the ocean surface , including in the Northern Hemisphere , '' said World Meteorological Organization Secretary-General Michel Jarraud . NOAA : 2014 is shaping up as hottest year on record . According to the organization , estimates for this year show the average air temperature over land and sea for January-October was about 1.03 degrees Fahrenheit ( 0.57 degrees Centigrade ) above the average of 57.2 degrees F ( 14.00 degrees C ) for the 1961-1990 reference period , and 0.16 degree F ( 0.09 degree C ) above the average for the past 10 years . If the rest of 2014 plays out as expected , this year will be the hottest on record , ahead of 2010 , 2005 and 1998 . `` The provisional information for 2014 means that 14 of the 15 warmest years on record have all occurred in the 21st century , '' Jarraud said . `` There is no standstill in global warming . '' Your chance of being struck by lightning is climbing , climate scientist says .
The estimates are released to coincide with annual climate change predictions . World Meteorological Organization report : ` ` There is no standstill in global warming ''