PARIS: The planet is on track to log its second-hottest year on record in 2025, tied with 2023 after a historic high in 2024, Europe’s global warming monitor said on Tuesday (Dec 9).
The data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service reaffirms that global temperatures are on course to exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels – the threshold considered safe in the 2015 Paris Agreement.
Temperatures rose by 1.48 degrees Celsius on average between January and November, with the year “currently tied with 2023 to be the second-warmest year on record”, according to the service’s monthly update.
“The three-year average for 2023 (to) 2025 is on track to exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius for the first time,” Samantha Burgess, strategic lead for climate at Copernicus, said in a statement.
“These milestones are not abstract – they reflect the accelerating pace of climate change and the only way to mitigate future rising temperatures is to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” Burgess said.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned in October that the world would not be able to contain global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius in the next few years.
Last month was the third warmest November on record at 1.54 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, according to Copernicus, with the average surface air temperature reaching 14.02 degrees Celsius.
Such incremental rises may appear small, but scientists warn that they are already destabilising the climate and making storms, floods and other disasters fiercer and more frequent.
“The month was marked by a number of extreme weather events, including tropical cyclones in Southeast Asia, causing widespread, catastrophic flooding and loss of life,” the monitor said.