The United Nations issued a stark warning on Monday as the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released its flagship State of the Global Climate annual report, confirming that the amount of heat trapped by the Earth reached record levels in 2025.
This warming trend has pushed the planet into a state of emergency, with the WMO confirming that the 11 hottest years ever recorded occurred between 2015 and 2025.
Last year was identified as the second or third hottest on record, averaging approximately 1.43°C above the 1850–1900 baseline.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the situation as humanity pushing the Earth beyond its limits, noting that every key climate indicator is "flashing red" and asserting that the repetitive record-breaking temperatures are a clear call to action rather than a coincidence.
For the first time, the report highlights the planet's "energy imbalance"—the rate at which energy enters and leaves the Earth system.
While a stable climate requires incoming solar energy to equal outgoing energy, the WMO noted that concentrations of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide have reached their highest levels in at least 800,000 years, upsetting this equilibrium.
This imbalance has escalated since records began in 1960, particularly over the last two decades, hitting a new high in 2025. WMO Chief Celeste Saulo warned that human activities are increasingly disrupting this natural balance, with consequences expected to last for thousands of years.
The oceans bear the brunt of this imbalance, storing more than 91% of the excess heat.
Ocean heat content reached a record high in 2025, with the rate of warming more than doubling since the 2005–2025 period compared to the previous four decades.
This warming is degrading marine ecosystems, causing biodiversity loss, and reducing the ocean's ability to act as a carbon sink, while simultaneously fueling more intense tropical storms and exacerbating sea-ice loss.
Both the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets have lost significant mass, and the Arctic sea ice extent in 2025 was among the lowest in the satellite era.
Additionally, the global mean sea level in 2025 was approximately 11 centimeters higher than in 1993, a trend projected to continue for centuries.
WMO scientific officer John Kennedy noted that global weather remains under the influence of La Niña, which typically cools surface temperatures.
Despite this, 2024 remains the warmest year on record at 1.55°C above the pre-industrial average, having started during a strong El Nino. While neutral conditions are expected by mid-2026, a potential El Nino development late this year could lead to even higher temperatures in 2027.
WMO Deputy Chief Ko Barrett described the outlook as a "dire picture," emphasizing that the indicators are not moving in a hopeful direction.
Against a backdrop of Middle East conflict and soaring fuel prices, Secretary-General Guterres concluded that the world's addiction to fossil fuels is destabilizing both the climate and global security, warning that "climate chaos is accelerating and delay is deadly."
Source: AFP
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