State of the Climate in South-West Pacific 2020

In the South-West Pacific region, 2020 was the second or third warmest year on record, depending on the data set. Near-surface temperatures over the land and ocean averaged across the region were about 0.37–0.44 °C above the 1981–2010 average.

Countries in the Pacific are making substantial progress in achieving Sustainable Development Goal 13 on climate action. However, the region needs to accelerate progress towards achieving target 13.1 (strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity) and reverse current trends with a view to achieving other targets related to resilience to disasters (target 1.5 and target 11.5).