Five Things to Know About Climate Change in 2025

The document reports that 2025 is virtually certain to be among the top five hottest years globally, driven by rising carbon pollution from fossil fuels. In the U.S., record high temperatures significantly outpaced record lows, and the year saw a record-costly start for billion-dollar weather and climate disasters, including the most expensive wildfire event on record in Los Angeles. Globally, carbon pollution intensified Hurricane Melissa, which devastated Jamaica. The report also highlights a trend of 'hydroclimate whiplash' contributing to both the Los Angeles fires and deadly flash floods in Texas, while noting that the U.S. has rolled back key clean energy policies and is set to withdraw from the Paris Agreement by January 2026.

• Carbon pollution significantly influenced U.S. temperature records in 2025, with record highs occurring far more frequently than record lows. Across 247 major U.S. cities through November, there were 1,313 record highs compared to 298 record lows, and carbon pollution made 89% of those record highs more likely.
• The Los Angeles wildfires of January 2025 were the costliest wildfire event in U.S. history, exceeding $60 billion in damages. The disaster resulted in 31 deaths and the destruction of over 16,000 homes and businesses, with human-caused warming making the associated fire weather 35% more likely and 6% more intense.
• Hurricane Melissa, the strongest storm of the year, hit Jamaica on October 28 as a Category 5 storm, causing 45 deaths and damages equivalent to 41% of Jamaica's GDP. Human-caused climate change made the ocean temperatures (1.4°C warmer than average) that fueled the storm's rapid intensification at least 500 times more likely.
• The U.S. experienced a record number of flash floods in 2025, including a deadly event in the Texas Hill Country in early July that claimed at least 135 lives. This event, and the Los Angeles fires, were influenced by 'hydroclimate whiplash,' where extreme rainfall follows prolonged drought or wet periods are followed by rapid drying.
• The U.S. has seen a record-costly start to 2025 regarding billion-dollar weather and climate disasters, with 14 such events recorded through June, exceeding the long-term annual average of nine. This trend coincides with a U.S. policy shift, including the rollback of 2021-2022 clean energy policies and a planned withdrawal from the Paris Agreement by January 2026.

APA

Climate Central (2025). Five Things to Know About Climate Change in 2025. https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/five-things-to-know-about-climate-change-in-2025

Chicago

Climate Central. Five Things to Know About Climate Change in 2025. 2025. https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/five-things-to-know-about-climate-change-in-2025.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Central |title=Five Things to Know About Climate Change in 2025 |date=10 December 2025 |url=https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/five-things-to-know-about-climate-change-in-2025 |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatecentral2025five, author = {{Climate Central}}, title = {{Five Things to Know About Climate Change in 2025}}, institution = {Climate Central}, year = {2025}, month = dec, url = {https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/five-things-to-know-about-climate-change-in-2025}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }