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WMO Says 2025 Set to Be Second or Third Warmest on Record

UN leaders warn record greenhouse gases plus rising ocean heat make a temporary 1.5C overshoot likely unless action accelerates.

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A large crowd of people gather at Bondi Beach on Christmas Day to enjoy the beach, sunny weather and national holiday. This image was taken from the cliffs at the southern end of Bondi Beach on a hot and sunny afternoon (although if not for daylight saving, the time would be 12 noon) on 25 December 2024.
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Overview

  • The WMO’s update ahead of COP30 finds 2015–2025 are the 11 warmest individual years on record, with 2023–2025 ranking as the hottest three.
  • From January to August 2025, the global mean near‑surface temperature was 1.42°C above the pre‑industrial average, a slight dip from 2024 linked to the shift from El Niño to neutral or La Niña conditions.
  • Concentrations of CO2, methane and nitrous oxide hit record highs in 2024 and continued rising in 2025, while ocean heat content climbed further, sea level rise persisted and Arctic and Antarctic sea ice remained at very low extents.
  • WMO chief Celeste Saulo says it is virtually impossible to hold warming to 1.5°C in the next few years without a temporary overshoot, and António Guterres urges rapid action to minimize the scale and duration of that overshoot.
  • The agency reports multi‑hazard early warning systems have expanded from 56 countries in 2015 to 119 in 2024, yet about 40% of countries still lack such coverage, and Climate Analytics projects 1.5°C is very likely to be reached in the early 2030s.