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The decade from 2015 to 2025 will be remembered as a turning point in the history of Earth’s climate—though not for reasons that inspire comfort. According to the latest State of the Global Climate report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), these eleven years were the hottest since systematic temperature measurements began in 1850. The data paints a stark picture: the planet is warming faster, the oceans are absorbing unprecedented amounts of heat, and the balance of Earth’s energy system is slipping further out of equilibrium.
A Decade of Relentless Heat
The WMO confirms that 2025 ranked as the second- or third-hottest year ever recorded, with global temperatures averaging 1.43°C above pre-industrial levels. Only 2024 surpassed it, reaching approximately 1.55°C above the 1850–1900 baseline. These numbers are more than statistical milestones—they are markers of accelerating climate disruption.
WMO Deputy Secretary-General Ko Barrett did not mince words: the indicators “are not moving in a direction that gives great hope.” UN Secretary-General António Guterres went even further, calling the situation a planetary emergency: “Earth is being pushed to its limits.”
The Energy Imbalance: A New Warning Signal
For the first time, the WMO highlights a single overarching metric: Earth’s energy imbalance. In a stable climate, the energy Earth receives from the sun roughly equals the energy it radiates back into space. But human-driven greenhouse gas emissions—now at levels unseen for at least 800,000 years—are trapping more heat than the planet can release.
This imbalance is the engine behind rising temperatures, melting ice, and intensifying weather extremes. It is also accelerating faster than scientists expected.
Oceans: The Planet’s Overburdened Heat Sink
More than 91% of the excess heat is being absorbed by the oceans, turning them into vast, warming reservoirs. The rate of ocean heating has more than doubled between the periods 1960–2005 and 2005–2025. This warming fuels stronger storms, disrupts marine ecosystems, and contributes to sea-level rise.
The remaining excess energy is distributed unevenly:
- 5% is stored in soils
- 3% drives the melting of ice sheets and glaciers
- 1% directly warms the air at Earth’s surface
That last number may seem small, but its consequences—heatwaves, droughts, and shifting climate patterns—are felt everywhere.
A Narrow Window for Hope
Despite the grim data, WMO climate scientist Claire Ransom insists that despair is not an option. If people believe nothing can be done, emissions will continue to rise unchecked. But if societies confront the crisis with determination, she argues, the scale of future damage can still be limited.
The solution is neither mysterious nor new: rapid, sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
A Decade That Demands Action
The years 2015 to 2025 have delivered a clear message. The climate system is changing at a pace that leaves little room for complacency. Each fraction of a degree of warming brings new risks—and each action to reduce emissions helps determine the world future generations will inherit.
The WMO’s report is not just a scientific assessment. It is a call to recognize the urgency of the moment and to act before the next decade becomes even hotter than the last.
- source: orf.at/picture: pixabay.com
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