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The year 2025 has officially ranked as the third‑warmest year worldwide since temperature records began, according to new data released by the EU’s Earth observation programme Copernicus. The global average temperature reached 14.97°C, continuing an alarming trend: the past eleven years have been the warmest eleven years ever measured.
Samantha Burgess, Deputy Director of Copernicus, emphasized the narrow margins separating recent record years. “2025 was only slightly cooler than 2023, and 2024 remains the warmest year on record,” she said during the publication of this year’s Global Climate Highlights. According to the data, 2025 was just 0.01°C cooler than 2023 and 0.13°C cooler than 2024. Burgess called it “another exceptional year for the planet.”
First Three‑Year Period Above 1.5°C
The Copernicus Climate Change Service, working with European and U.S. partner organizations, highlighted a milestone that underscores the accelerating climate crisis. For the first time, the three‑year global temperature average (2023–2025) exceeded 1.5°C above pre‑industrial levels.
The report stresses that this does not yet mean the Paris Agreement target is officially breached, as the threshold must be exceeded over a longer, sustained period. Still, the symbolic crossing marks a significant warning sign. The authors note that calculations may vary slightly among scientific institutions due to differences in datasets, and the World Meteorological Organization is expected to release its own 2025 temperature assessment shortly.
Experts Warn Paris Climate Goal Likely Out of Reach
While the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C limit is not formally considered lost, most experts now believe it is no longer realistically achievable. Many also warn that even limiting warming to 2°C will be extremely difficult without rapid, large‑scale emissions reductions.
The findings from 2025 reinforce a stark message: the world is entering a period of persistent, record‑breaking heat, with profound consequences for ecosystems, economies, and societies.
- Hector Pascua with reports from orf.at/picture:
