The world experienced its hottest January on record in 2025, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), citing data from the UN-backed Copernicus Climate Change Service.
Temperature records broken
January 2025 was 1.75°C above pre-industrial levels and 0.79°C above the 1991-2020 average. It marked the 18th time in the past 19 months that the global surface air temperature surpassed the 1.5°C threshold set by the Paris Agreement.
The past 12 months (February 2024 – January 2025) recorded a temperature rise of 1.61°C above pre-industrial levels, despite expectations that the La Niña weather phenomenon would bring temporary cooling.
Global climate patterns
The data, compiled from major climate agencies—including NOAA, NASA, the European Union’s Copernicus Service, and the Japan Meteorological Agency—reveals a disturbing trend of accelerating global warming.
Copernicus climate expert Samantha Burgess described the findings as “surprising,” given that La Niña’s cooling effect was not enough to offset rising temperatures. “January 2025 is another surprising month, continuing the record temperatures observed throughout the last two years, despite the development of La Niña conditions in the tropical Pacific and their temporary cooling effect on global temperatures,” said Burgess.
Drier-than-average conditions were recorded in northern UK, Ireland, eastern Spain, the Black Sea region, southwestern US, northern Mexico, northern Africa, and parts of Asia.
Wetter-than-average conditions hit Alaska, Canada, Russia, eastern Australia, southeastern Africa, and southern Brazil, leading to flooding and damage.
Cause for concern
Experts attribute the temperature rise primarily to greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels, coupled with deforestation and other environmental impacts.
The findings add to growing concerns that global efforts to limit temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, as outlined in the 2015 Paris Agreement, are increasingly at risk of failure.
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Blythe Noren