In the competition for the warmest year on record, 2025 narrowly missed the top spot. According to the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), 2025 ranked third, registering 1.47 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial benchmark period of 1850 to 1900. This temperature was slightly lower than the hottest year on record, 2024, by 0.13 degrees Celsius and just 0.01 degrees Celsius below 2023.
Florian Pappenberger, the ECMWF’s director general, expressed concern over this outcome, stating that it was alarming news shared by multiple organizations, including Berkeley Earth and the UK Met Office. Despite minor variations in temperature readings, all these entities concluded that 2025 stood as the third warmest year globally.
While 2025 did not claim the top position, experts emphasized that it was still a year marked by hazardous conditions affecting millions worldwide. Fahad Saeed, a senior climate scientist at Climate Analytics, highlighted that even if 2025 did not break records, it witnessed extreme temperatures regionally.
Europe experienced its third warmest year, with cities like Barcelona recording unprecedented heatwaves. The UK also reported its highest temperatures on record. These extreme weather events, exacerbated by climate change driven by human activities, resulted in over 1,500 deaths in Europe alone.
In Canada, a series of heatwaves were linked to climate change, affecting regions from British Columbia to the Atlantic provinces. Meanwhile, northwest Africa and parts of central Asia faced unprecedented heat levels, causing distress among populations.
In Senegal, environmental activist Khady Camara described how soaring temperatures, reaching around 40 degrees Celsius during the dry season, particularly impacted vulnerable groups like women and children. The situation was demoralizing for rural communities, with women bearing the brunt of outdoor labor amid the scorching heat.
Some countries experienced record-breaking temperatures even during traditionally cooler periods. Tajikistan, for instance, encountered an unusual heatwave in March, followed by nights devoid of relief during the summer months. The relentless heat led to health issues, including respiratory problems, in Dushanbe.
Experts attributed 2025’s lower ranking to the influence of La Niña, which brought relatively cooler conditions to the Pacific and tropical regions. However, the weak La Niña phenomenon was still notably warm, hinting at potential warming in the coming months with the shift to a neutral phase. The looming possibility of El Niño’s return raised concerns, given its association with the record-breaking heat of 2023 and 2024.
To mitigate such extreme weather events, experts emphasized the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Investments in renewable energy sources were highlighted as a crucial step towards phasing out fossil fuels, but the speed and scale of this transition were deemed insufficient to address the climate crisis effectively.