The year 2025 marked a significant milestone in the history of our planet, being recorded as the third-hottest year ever. This alarming statistic comes from Copernicus, the climate monitoring service of the European Union, which provides crucial data regarding global temperature trends.
This conclusion is not particularly shocking; indeed, the last eleven years have all ranked among the warmest on record, according to the same data from Copernicus. In 2025, the average global temperature was approximately 1.47 degrees Celsius (or 2.65 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than the baseline period from 1850 to 1900. This reference period is vital because it predates the industrial revolution, a time when humanity began releasing vast quantities of carbon emissions into the atmosphere.
"Annual surface air temperatures were above the average across 91% of the globe," explained Samantha Burgess, who leads the climate strategy at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, during a press conference. She attributed the unprecedented temperature records primarily to the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which result largely from the combustion of fossil fuels.
World leaders committed to curbing global warming under the 2015 Paris Agreement, aiming to limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. However, for three consecutive years, global temperatures have approached or exceeded this critical threshold, making such aspirations seem increasingly unattainable.
Mauro Facchini, head of Earth observation at the European Commission’s Directorate General for Defence Industry and Space, expressed concern at the same press event, stating, "Surpassing a three-year average of 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels is a milestone that none of us wanted to witness. The news is far from encouraging, and the urgency for climate action has never been more pressing."
On a related note, U.S. agencies are set to announce their climate data for 2025 shortly. NASA will release its findings separately from those of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), as both organizations employ different methodologies to calculate the annual global average temperature, often resulting in some discrepancies in their findings.
Nonetheless, the trend indicated by these measurements is unmistakable: the planet is warming at an alarming rate, potentially faster than scientists initially predicted.
Amidst these grim statistics from Europe, the outlook appears even more troubling given recent U.S. actions aimed at rolling back regulations designed to combat climate change and stepping away from international collaborations intended to mitigate warming.
Last week, the Trump administration announced its decision to withdraw from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. This move will significantly diminish the United States' presence in crucial global climate discussions. Furthermore, the administration stated it would cease support for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which is renowned for producing comprehensive reports on the pace of climate change and its widespread impacts.
Later this month, after a year-long waiting period, the U.S. will officially exit the Paris Agreement, a pact central to global climate efforts.
President Donald Trump has previously referred to climate change as a "con job," and his administration has actively sought to undermine or downplay vital climate reports, including the National Climate Assessment. Efforts are also underway to strip the Environmental Protection Agency of its authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, a major contributor to global warming.
Simultaneously, there have been initiatives to revitalize the coal industry, including orders for coal plants to maintain operations, despite coal being the most polluting fossil fuel. Additionally, the administration has attempted to reverse numerous climate initiatives put in place by the Biden administration, including financial incentives for electric vehicles.
Preliminary data from the Rhodium Group, an independent research organization tracking U.S. emissions, indicates that U.S. climate pollution increased by approximately 2.4% in 2025. However, it's important to note that this uptick may not directly stem from Trump's policies, as many are just starting to take effect. Researchers from Rhodium attribute this rise to factors such as high natural gas prices, the expansion of energy-intensive data centers, and a cooler winter in the United States.
Looking ahead, Rhodium analysts still expect the U.S. to achieve a reduction in emissions in the future, primarily due to the increasing affordability of renewable energy compared to fossil fuels in various regions. That said, they now predict a smaller decline in emissions than was anticipated before Trump took office.
The heat retained by greenhouse gases continues to exacerbate weather extremes, heightening the risk of severe storms, heatwaves, and flooding.
According to a recent analysis by the nonprofit organization Climate Central, 2025 was the third costliest year for significant weather and climate-related disasters. The report indicated that 23 separate events caused over $1 billion each in damages, resulting in a total of 276 fatalities and financial losses amounting to $115 billion.
While the primary driver of rising global temperatures is greenhouse gas emissions, natural variability plays a role as well. For example, the La Niña pattern, characterized by cooler-than-average water in the central Pacific, generally suppresses global temperatures, whereas El Niño tends to elevate them.
A La Niña phenomenon emerged in late 2025, although NOAA scientists anticipate a return to neutral conditions early this year.
Evan Bush serves as a science reporter for NBC News.
