Decade to 2025 was hottest on record

2025 was either the second or third hottest year on record

Scientists had widely expected the milestone, after climate records were repeatedly broken. Since June, every month has been the world's hottest on record compared with the corresponding month in previous years.
A man cools down by dipping his head in a fountain. File picture: (REUTERS/Remo Casilli TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

The years between 2015 and 2025 have been the hottest since records began, the UN weather agency said on Monday, with 2025 ranking either second or third overall.

The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) report said 2015 to 2025 were the hottest 11 years since record-keeping began in 1850.

2025 was either the second or third hottest on record, the WMO State of the Global Climate report said, at about 1.43°C above the pre-industrial average.

This confirms an earlier report from the WMO that 2025 was one of the three hottest on record.

Glacier mass loss at key sites was among the five worst on record, the report said, with exceptional declines reported in Iceland and North America.

“The state of the global climate is in a state of emergency. Planet Earth is being pushed beyond its limits. Every key climate indicator is flashing red,” said UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres.

The report also confirmed that 2024 was the hottest year at about 1.55°C above the pre-industrial average.

Governments pledged under the 2015 Paris Agreement to try to avoid exceeding 1.5°C of global warming.

Reuters


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