January 2025 Breaks Global Heat Record, Surpassing Expectations
Global temperatures reached 1.75°C above pre-industrial levels, defying predictions of cooling effects from La Niña conditions.
- January 2025 was the hottest January ever recorded, with temperatures 1.75°C above pre-industrial levels and 0.79°C above the 1991-2020 average.
- This marks the 18th time in 19 months that global temperatures exceeded the 1.5°C threshold set by the Paris Agreement.
- Scientists were surprised by the record-breaking heat, as a weak La Niña event, typically associated with cooling, failed to counteract rising temperatures.
- Extreme weather patterns were observed globally, including droughts in northern Africa and parts of Asia, and flooding in southeastern Africa and southern Brazil.
- Experts attribute the persistent warming trend to human-caused greenhouse gas emissions and warn that efforts to limit temperature rise to 1.5°C are increasingly at risk of failure.
