The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released its 2025 State of the Climate report, revealing the planet has set a new record for heat accumulation. The Earth has experienced the hottest 11 consecutive years in recorded history, causing impacts that will last for thousands of years. Meanwhile, the United Nations Secretary-General emphasized that humanity is facing an emergency and that delays in addressing it amount to "death."
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a United Nations agency, issued its annual "State of the Global Climate" report confirming that the period from 2015 to 2025 is the hottest 11-year span ever recorded. In 2025, the global average temperature rose 1.43 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, ranking it as the second or third hottest year on record, just behind 2024, which surged to 1.55 degrees Celsius.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres stated, "The world is being pushed beyond its limits. Every climate indicator is flashing red. When history repeats itself 11 times, it is no longer a coincidence. This is a call for us to act."
This report highlights, for the first time, the issue of the "global energy imbalance," noting that greenhouse gases—carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide—have reached their highest levels in at least 800,000 years. This results in the Earth retaining more heat than it releases. The level of this imbalance hit a record high in 2025.
The most concerning data is that over 91 percent of the excess heat is stored in the oceans, affecting sea temperatures, which in 2025 reached record highs. The rate of ocean warming over the past 20 years (2005–2025) has doubled compared to the period from 1960 to 2005.
Sea levels have risen 11 centimeters since 1993 due to thermal expansion and melting ice. The Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets have lost massive amounts of mass, while Arctic sea ice has dropped to near record lows.
Although the Earth is currently experiencing La Niña, which helps reduce some surface temperatures, experts predict a neutral phase by mid-2026 and the possible onset of El Niño by late 2026. This could cause global temperatures to spike again in 2027.
WMO Deputy Director-General Go Barrett acknowledged the current outlook as "horrifying," with indicators showing little hope. Secretary-General Guterres concluded that amid wars and energy crises, humanity’s addiction to fossil fuels is destroying both climate stability and global security simultaneously.
,AFP