Global warming 11-year streak continues, UN weather agency says

The World Meteorological Organization says 2025 ranked among the three warmest years on record, extending an 11-year run of unusually high global temperatures.

The World Meteorological Organization announced that 2025 was one of the three warmest years on record, continuing an 11-year stretch of unusually high global temperatures. The agency reported the global average surface temperature for 2025 was 1.44°C above the 1850–1900 average. Multiple international datasets were analysed, with two ranking 2025 as the second warmest year in the 176-year record and six ranking it third. The WMO noted that La Niña conditions helped make 2025 slightly cooler than the three-year average from 2023 but did not reverse the long-term warming trend. Key findings: - WMO analysed eight international datasets and reported a global average surface temperature 1.44°C above the 1850–1900 baseline for 2025. - Two datasets placed 2025 as the second warmest year and six placed it third in the 176-year record. - WMO said 2025 began and ended with a cooling La Niña, but attributed the high year-to-year temperatures to accumulated heat-trapping greenhouse gases. - Ocean temperatures were among the highest on record, with about 33% of the global ocean area in its historical top three warmest conditions for 1958–2025 and about 57% in the top five. Summary: The WMO linked the high land and sea temperatures in 2025 to a rise in extreme weather events and emphasised broad warming across ocean basins. The organisation will publish its fuller State of the Global Climate 2025 report in March, which will provide more detailed indicators including greenhouse gases and ocean heat.