Scientists Warn Global Heating Nears 1.5C Threshold After Third-Hottest Year
Last year ranked among the hottest ever recorded, with scientists attributing the extreme temperatures primarily to rising fossil fuel emissions, according to international climate agencies. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said 2025 marked the third-hottest year on record, extending a multi-year period of exceptional global heat.
The WMO reported that average global surface temperatures in 2025 were around 1.48 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, with consolidated analysis placing the increase at approximately 1.44C. Multiple global datasets confirmed the trend, with most ranking 2025 as the third-hottest year since records began in the mid-19th century.
Scientists warned that current warming rates could push the world beyond the Paris Agreement’s 1.5C limit before the end of the decade. The Copernicus Climate Change Service noted that this threshold, measured over a 30-year average, may be crossed more than a decade earlier than anticipated when the agreement was adopted in 2015.
Researchers said natural climate variability played a smaller role in 2025 than in previous years. While the El Niño weather pattern boosted temperatures in 2023 and 2024, its influence weakened in 2025, making last year’s heat a clearer reflection of long-term, human-driven warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions.
Data showed that January 2025 was the hottest January on record, while several other months ranked among the warmest historically. Although ocean temperatures in some regions were slightly lower than in 2024, extreme warming at the poles offset this, with Antarctica experiencing its hottest year and Arctic temperatures ranking second-highest.
Scientists also highlighted declining polar sea ice, widespread heat stress across land areas, and growing risks to ecosystems and communities. Experts said the findings underscored the dominant role of human activity in driving climate change, warning that despite renewable energy growth, global emissions continue to rise, intensifying climate-related impacts worldwide.
