Colombo: Global temperatures in 2025 are on track to make this year the second or third hottest ever recorded, according to European Union climate scientists. New assessments from the Copernicus Climate Change Service show that the world continues to warm at an alarming pace, pushing global temperatures very close to the Paris Agreement’s 1.5 degree Celsius limit.
Scientists say that temperatures from January to November this year were around 1.48 degree Celsius higher than levels recorded before the industrial era. This places 2025 close to 2023 and only slightly behind 2024, which remains the hottest year on record.
The World Meteorological Organization has also confirmed that 2025 is continuing a dangerous pattern of extreme warming. The last eleven years from 2015 to 2025 are now the warmest years ever documented in global temperature records that go back more than 170 years.
Experts warn that these rising temperatures are not only numbers. They translate into stronger and more frequent extreme weather events. In 2025, countries around the world experienced severe heatwaves, powerful storms, widespread wildfires and damaging floods. Communities in the Philippines faced a major typhoon, while Spain and parts of the United States battled intense wildfires.
Scientists say the main reason for this continued warming is the release of greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas. Natural weather patterns like El Nino and La Nina can affect temperatures temporarily, but experts stress that the long term trend is clearly driven by human activity.
Although briefly going above the 1.5 degree threshold does not mean the world has permanently crossed it, climate researchers say the narrow margin left for action is shrinking fast. Many warn that continued warming increases the risk of irreversible impacts on ecosystems, oceans, weather systems and communities worldwide.
Final confirmation of the 2025 ranking will come once December data is processed. But both European and United Nations scientists agree that this year confirms the world is entering a period of sustained high temperatures, leaving governments under pressure to reduce emissions and speed up climate action.