UN: 2025 Among Top Three Warmest Years on Record
The United Nations has warned that 2025 is set to be among the hottest years ever recorded, with greenhouse gas concentrations reaching new highs and significant weather-related extreme events reported globally.
GENEVA: An alarming streak of exceptional temperatures has put 2025 on course to be among the hottest years ever recorded, according to a report by the United Nations.
Despite not surpassing 2024 as the hottest year recorded, 2025 is projected to rank second or third, marking more than a decade of unprecedented heat.
The UN's weather and climate agency highlighted that concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have reached new record highs, leading to increased future heat levels.
This trend, coupled with the continued rise in global temperatures, poses significant challenges for meeting the Paris Agreement target of limiting global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.
UN chief Antonio Guterres described the missed temperature target as a "moral failure".
The World Meteorological Organization's climate science chief, Chris Hewitt, emphasized that it is still unclear how long temperatures will remain above the critical 1.5C threshold.
Hewitt stressed that decisions made at the upcoming COP30 UN climate summit in Belem, Brazil, are crucial for addressing this challenge.
The years between 2015 and 2025 have individually been recorded as the warmest since observations began in 176 years ago, with 2023, 2024, and 2025 positioned among the highest rankings.
The mean near-surface temperature during the first eight months of 2025 was reported at 1.42C above the pre-industrial average.
The impact of these rising temperatures is evident in the record-low Arctic sea ice extent following the winter freeze and significantly below-average Antarctic sea ice extent throughout the year.
Numerous weather and climate-related extreme events have also been observed during this period, including devastating flooding, severe heatwaves, and wildfires, with far-reaching consequences for human lives and food systems.
In response to these challenges, significant advances have been made in early warning systems, with 119 countries now reporting such systems, representing a more than doubling from the initial 56 countries in 2015.
This progress is particularly noted among least developed countries and small island developing states.
However, 40 percent of countries still lack access to early warning systems, emphasizing the need for urgent action to address these remaining gaps.
Despite not surpassing 2024 as the hottest year recorded, 2025 is projected to rank second or third, marking more than a decade of unprecedented heat.
The UN's weather and climate agency highlighted that concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have reached new record highs, leading to increased future heat levels.
This trend, coupled with the continued rise in global temperatures, poses significant challenges for meeting the Paris Agreement target of limiting global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.
UN chief Antonio Guterres described the missed temperature target as a "moral failure".
The World Meteorological Organization's climate science chief, Chris Hewitt, emphasized that it is still unclear how long temperatures will remain above the critical 1.5C threshold.
Hewitt stressed that decisions made at the upcoming COP30 UN climate summit in Belem, Brazil, are crucial for addressing this challenge.
The years between 2015 and 2025 have individually been recorded as the warmest since observations began in 176 years ago, with 2023, 2024, and 2025 positioned among the highest rankings.
The mean near-surface temperature during the first eight months of 2025 was reported at 1.42C above the pre-industrial average.
The impact of these rising temperatures is evident in the record-low Arctic sea ice extent following the winter freeze and significantly below-average Antarctic sea ice extent throughout the year.
Numerous weather and climate-related extreme events have also been observed during this period, including devastating flooding, severe heatwaves, and wildfires, with far-reaching consequences for human lives and food systems.
In response to these challenges, significant advances have been made in early warning systems, with 119 countries now reporting such systems, representing a more than doubling from the initial 56 countries in 2015.
This progress is particularly noted among least developed countries and small island developing states.
However, 40 percent of countries still lack access to early warning systems, emphasizing the need for urgent action to address these remaining gaps.
