Five Things to Know About Earths Hottest Year

2025 was Earth's third-warmest year on record, with average temperatures 1.3°C above pre-industrial levels. This continues a heat streak driven by fossil fuel pollution, pushing the planet toward the 1.5°C long-term warming limit, which could be exceeded by 2030. While global electricity demand is increasingly met by renewables, the U.S. has recently rolled back clean energy policies and withdrawn from key international climate agreements.

• In 2025, global average temperatures reached 1.3°C (2.4°F) above pre-industrial levels (1850-1900), making it the third-warmest year since records began in 1850. This occurred despite the cooling effects of La Niña conditions that emerged in September.
• The current global heat streak is primarily caused by human-produced pollution from burning coal, oil, and gas for industry, transportation, and energy. Atmospheric CO2 levels have reached heights not seen in at least 800,000 years, contributing to warming rates unseen in at least 2,000 years.
• The planet is approaching the Paris Agreement's aspirational long-term warming limit of 1.5°C. While a single-year breach occurred in 2024, the five-year average currently stands at 1.25°C above pre-industrial levels, with the long-term limit potentially exceeded around 2030.
• Global energy transitions are progressing, with renewable energy such as wind and solar meeting 70% of the increase in electricity demand in 2024. However, as of January 2026, the U.S. has withdrawn from the Paris Agreement, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, while rolling back 2021-2022 clean energy policies.

APA

Climate Central (2026). Five Things to Know About Earths Hottest Year. https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/2025-in-review-global-temperatures

Chicago

Climate Central. Five Things to Know About Earths Hottest Year. 2026. https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/2025-in-review-global-temperatures.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Central |title=Five Things to Know About Earths Hottest Year |date=14 January 2026 |url=https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/2025-in-review-global-temperatures |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatecentral2026five, author = {{Climate Central}}, title = {{Five Things to Know About Earths Hottest Year}}, institution = {Climate Central}, year = {2026}, month = jan, url = {https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/2025-in-review-global-temperatures}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }