2025 Ranked Third‑Warmest as 2023–2025 Average Exceeded 1.5°C, Copernicus Reports

Overview

• Copernicus estimates the 2025 global mean at 14.97°C, or 1.47°C above the 1850–1900 baseline, just below 2023 and trailing the 2024 record, with the last 11 years the warmest on record.
• For the first time, the three‑year period 2023–2025 averaged above 1.5°C, a symbolic breach relative to the Paris Agreement’s more ambitious limit.
• Scientists identify rising greenhouse‑gas concentrations as the primary driver, with ocean heat and El Niño boosting recent peaks and a weak La Niña tempering some tropical anomalies in 2025.
• Antarctica logged its warmest year and the Arctic its second warmest, while combined polar sea‑ice extent hit a satellite‑era low; widespread heat stress, extreme weather and major wildfires raised health and air‑quality concerns.
• Copernicus and Berkeley Earth project 2026 will likely be comparable to 2025 and could set a new record if El Niño returns, while other datasets such as NASA’s rank 2025 slightly differently but also show exceptional warmth.