Last year was among the planet’s three warmest on record, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said yesterday, as EU scientists also confirmed average temperatures have now exceeded 1.5C of global warming for the longest since records began.
The WMO, which consolidates eight climate datasets from around the world, said six of them – including the European Union’s European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and the British national weather service – had ranked 2025 as the third warmest, while two placed it as the second warmest in the 176-year record.
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also confirmed in data released yesterday that 2025 was the third-warmest year in its global temperature record, which dates back to 1850.
All eight datasets confirmed that the last three years were the planet’s three hottest since records began, the WMO said. The warmest year on record was 2024.
The slight differences in the datasets’ rankings reflect their different methodologies and types of measurements – which include satellite data and readings from weather stations.
ECMWF said 2025 also rounded out the first three-year period in which the average global temperature was 1.5C above the pre-industrial era – the limit beyond which scientists expect global warming will unleash severe impacts, some of them irreversible.
“1.5 C is not a cliff edge. However, we know that every fraction of a degree matters, particularly for worsening extreme weather events,” said Samantha Burgess, strategic lead for climate at ECMWF. She said she expected 2026 to be among the planet’s five warmest years.
Governments pledged under the 2015 Paris Agreement to try to avoid exceeding 1.5C of global warming.
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