By Juba Witness and Agencies
LONDON — Global temperatures remained near record highs in 2025, making it the third warmest year on record since measurements began in 1850, according to the HadCRUT5 temperature series compiled by the UK Met Office, the University of East Anglia (UEA) and the National Centre for Atmospheric Science.
Scientists report that global average temperatures in 2025 were 1.41 ± 0.09°C above the 1850–1900 pre-industrial average, trailing only 2024 and 2023. It marks the third consecutive calendar year in which global temperatures exceeded 1.4°C above pre-industrial levels.
The finding underscores what experts describe as an unprecedented and sustained surge in global heat.
“From 2023 the globe has seen a surge in average annual temperatures,” said Professor Stephen Belcher CBE, Met Office Chief Scientist. “The three-year average global temperature from 2023 to 2025 has been 1.47°C above the average for 1850–1900.”
According to climate researchers, the elevated temperatures in 2023 and 2024 were partly amplified by El Niño, a natural climate pattern in the Pacific Ocean that temporarily boosted global temperatures by around 0.1°C.
By 2025, however, the influence of El Niño had weakened—making last year’s readings particularly significant.
“The global temperature we observed in 2025 provides a clearer picture of the underlying warming,” said Professor Tim Osborn, Director of the Climatic Research Unit at UEA. “Our observations show that the world is continuing to warm in line with predictions made by climate scientists worldwide.”
Professor Osborn added that only sharp and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions would be capable of slowing—and eventually halting—human-driven climate change.
Climate scientist Colin Morice of the Met Office emphasized that the long-term rise in global temperatures is overwhelmingly driven by human activity.
“The long-term increase in global annual average temperature is driven by the human-induced rise in the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere,” Morice said. “Fluctuations from year to year largely result from natural variation in the climate system.”
In its most recent State of the Global Climate report, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) estimated that the current long-term global warming level—measured over multiple decades rather than individual years—is 1.37°C above pre-industrial levels, with a likely range of 1.34°C to 1.41°C.
Scientists are continuing to analyze the sharp rise in global temperatures seen since 2023. While greenhouse gas emissions remain the dominant cause, experts point to several contributing factors behind the recent acceleration, including:
- The rapid transition to El Niño conditions in 2023
- The accumulation of heat in the world’s oceans, driven by Earth’s high energy imbalance
- Reductions in anthropogenic aerosol emissions, which previously had a cooling effect by reflecting sunlight
Researchers stress that while natural variability can influence temperatures in the short term, the long-term trend remains unmistakable.
