The United Nations' weather agency declared that the decade from 2015 to 2025 was the hottest on record since temperature tracking began in 1850. According to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), this period included some of the warmest years ever documented, with 2024 being the hottest year at approximately 1.55°C above pre-industrial levels, and 2025 ranking either second or third overall at about 1.43°C above the pre-industrial average.
Key Takeaways
The United Nations declared that 2015 to 2025 was the hottest decade on record. The WMO report highlights significant climate indicators and warns of accelerating global warming trends.
- UN confirms 2015-2025 as the warmest decade since records began in 1850
- Global temperatures reached approximately 1.43°C above pre-industrial averages in 2025, close to breaching the critical 1.5°C threshold.
- Glacier mass loss was among the five worst on record, with significant declines observed in Iceland and North America.
- The planet's energy imbalance reached a new high in 2025, indicating accelerated climate change effects.
The WMO's report highlights that glacier mass loss at key sites was among the five worst on record, with exceptional declines reported in Iceland and North America. The report also emphasized a significant increase in extreme weather events such as heatwaves, heavy rainfall, wildfires, droughts, tropical cyclones, storms, and flooding. These events have led to widespread death and vast economic losses globally.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the global climate is in a 'state of emergency,' stating that 'Planet Earth is being pushed beyond its limits.' The report confirmed that greenhouse gas concentrations, including carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, have reached their highest levels in at least 800,000 years. This increase has driven global warming and contributed to the melting of ice caps.
The WMO's annual 'state of the global climate' report also highlighted the accelerating amount of heat stored in the world's oceans, which accounts for more than 91% of the excess heat in the Earth's system. This imbalance is pushing the planet towards long-term committed climate change that will have repercussions for centuries to come.
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