Scientists Confirm 2025 as Third Hottest Year Recorded

The Planet Faces Record Heat Year

European scientists have announced that 2025 is the third hottest year in recorded history, with no relief from heat expected in 2026. The global average temperature was 1.47 degrees Celsius (2.52 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels, with the last 11 years documented as the warmest to date, according to data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts.

Last year was only 0.13C (0.234F) cooler than 2024, the hottest year recorded, and 0.01C (0.018F) cooler than 2023, which holds the second rank in heat. For the first time, the average temperature between 2023 and 2025 surpassed the 1.5C (2.7F) limit established in the Paris Agreement.

The UK Met Office has also confirmed that 2025 is the third hottest year recorded. Colin Morice, a climate scientist at the Met Office, stated that “the long-term rise in annual global average temperature is driven by the increase in greenhouse gas concentrations caused by human activities.”

NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are expected to publish their recent global temperature data, while nearly 200 countries committed to limiting global temperature increases to 1.5C (2.7F) during a historic summit in Paris in 2015. However, the ongoing global warming raises serious doubts about achieving this goal.

The United States, the second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, announced last year its withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, one of President Donald Trump's first actions. In contrast, China, the world’s largest polluter, announced a target for emissions reduction in September, but climate experts deemed this goal insufficient.

In October, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated that the planet will inevitably exceed the 1.5C (2.7F) threshold and emphasized the importance of early warning systems to protect communities worldwide.