Presenting its latest assessment on Monday, the United Nation’s weather agency said the period from 2015 to 2025 represents the hottest 11 years ever recorded.
Ko Barrett, WMO Deputy Executive Secretary, said global temperatures last year were about 1.43 degrees Celsius above the pre‑industrial baseline of 1850 to 1900. The year also broke the record for ocean heat, underscoring the accelerating pace of climate change.
“Between 2015 and 2025, we experienced the hottest 11 years on record,” she said. “The warming ocean and melting land‑based ice are driving the long‑term rise in global mean sea level.”
Barrett said the findings highlight the urgent need to strengthen early‑warning systems and deliver lifesaving climate services to vulnerable communities. “These figures are an inspiration to work harder to get forecasts and warnings into the hands of those who can protect lives and livelihoods,” she added.
John Kennedy, a Scientific Officer with WMO, said concentrations ofcarbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide reached new record levels in 2024, the last year with verified global data. “It was the single‑largest year‑on‑year increase,” he said, adding that readings from monitoring sites suggest the upward trend continued in 2025.
Kennedy noted that the rising concentrations of heat‑trapping gases are shifting the planet’s energy balance. Under normal conditions, the Earth emits roughly the same amount of energy as it receives from the sun. “There is now less outgoing energy due to the increased concentrations of greenhouse gases,” he said. “More energy coming in than going out means that energy is accumulating in the Earth’s system.”
WMO has begun tracking the Earth’s energy imbalance as a new climate indicator, with results showing a marked acceleration between 2001 and 2025. Around 90% of excess heat is being absorbed by the oceans, a trend with profound implications for marine ecosystems and coastal communities.
“Over three billion people depend on marine and coastal resources for their livelihoods,” Kennedy said. “Nearly 11% of the global population lives on low‑lying coasts directly exposed to coastal hazards.”
–UN/ChannelAfrica–
