The year 2025 is on course to become the second hottest year on record, according to Europe’s top climate monitoring agency, adding to growing warnings that the world is moving dangerously close to a point of no return.
Global temperatures near critical 1.5°C limit
Data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) shows that the global average temperature from January to November was 1.48°C above pre-industrial levels. This makes it “virtually certain” that 2025 will end as the second or third warmest year ever recorded.
Last year was the hottest year on record, while 2023 ranked second.
Although 2025 may not individually breach the 1.5°C threshold identified by scientists as the trigger for the worst climate impacts, Copernicus warned that the average temperature for 2023–2025 will likely exceed that limit.
Scientists warn of accelerating climate crisis
“These milestones are not abstract – they reflect the accelerating pace of climate change,” said Samantha Burgess, strategic lead for climate at C3S. “The only way to mitigate rising temperatures is to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
Experts say the new data underscores the urgency highlighted by a series of extreme weather events this year, including tropical storms across South and Southeast Asia that killed more than 1,800 people.
Global leaders divided on fossil fuel phase-out
In October, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres cautioned that the world would inevitably overshoot the 1.5°C limit, stressing the need for robust early-warning systems to protect vulnerable communities.
However, international climate cooperation appears to be weakening. The COP30 summit in Brazil concluded last month without agreement on phasing out fossil fuels, raising fresh concerns about the global response to the climate emergency.
‘No meaningful prospect’ of temperatures declining soon
Climate scientist Bjorn H Samset from the Center for International Climate Research in Norway said global temperatures are unlikely to fall within any “meaningful time scale.”
“It’s crucial that we accelerate efforts not only to cut emissions but also to adapt to the hotter climate we will see in the coming decades,” he told Al Jazeera.