In the competitive race for the warmest year on record, 2025 narrowly missed the top spot, settling for third place. The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) reported that 2025 was 1.47 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial benchmark period. This placed it just 0.13 degrees cooler than the hottest year, 2024, and a mere 0.01 degrees lower than 2023.
Experts expressed concern over these findings, with Florian Pappenberger, ECMWF’s director general, highlighting the troubling implications. Collaborating organizations, including Berkeley Earth and the UK Met Office, confirmed 2025 as the third warmest year globally, despite slight variations in temperature readings.
Despite not clinching the top spot, the experts emphasized that 2025 still brought about hazardous and fatal conditions affecting millions worldwide. Climate scientist Fahad Saeed noted that while global records were not shattered, regional temperature extremes were observed.
European data revealed that Europe experienced its third warmest year in 2025, with scorching summer temperatures impacting cities like Barcelona and the UK recording its hottest year on record. Climate change exacerbated these conditions, leading to over 1,500 deaths in Europe alone.
In Canada, a series of heatwaves were linked to climate change, heightening the likelihood of extreme heat events across the country. Regions in northwest Africa and central Asia faced unprecedented temperatures, causing widespread suffering and health risks.
Senegal’s Khady Camara highlighted the distressing impact of high temperatures on communities, particularly women and children, emphasizing the challenges faced in rural areas. Unusual heatwaves in Tajikistan and the failure of nighttime cooling in Dushanbe further underscored the severity of global warming’s effects.
The influence of La Niña played a role in 2025 not claiming the hottest year title, with experts anticipating a potential shift to El Niño conditions. Greenhouse gas emissions reduction was emphasized as essential to mitigating future heat extremes and climate-related challenges.
Renewable energy investment was highlighted as a positive step towards combating climate change, with a call to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels. Despite progress in renewable energy initiatives, experts stressed the urgent need for greater speed and scale in addressing climate change impacts.