Copernicus Confirms First Three-Year Stretch at 1.5°C With 2025 the Third-Warmest Year

Overview

• Copernicus reports 2025 averaged 1.47°C above pre‑industrial levels, trailing the 2024 record of 1.60°C and ranking behind 2024 and 2023.
• Scientists attribute the exceptional warmth to human greenhouse‑gas accumulation, weakened natural carbon sinks, record‑hot oceans and El Niño’s boost in 2023–2024.
• ENSO shifted to neutral or weak La Niña in 2025, moderating tropical temperatures compared with the prior two years but leaving many regions far above average.
• The assessment documents severe impacts including Antarctica’s warmest year, the Arctic’s second warmest, widespread heatwaves, storms and destructive wildfires that degraded air quality in Europe and North America.
• Regional analyses highlight extreme summer heat, drought and fires across the Southern Cone of South America, and projections from Copernicus and Berkeley Earth suggest 2026 will be among the five warmest years, potentially a record if El Niño returns.