Global Temperature to Rise in 2025, Third Hottest on Record

According to data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), the average global surface air temperature in 2025 rose by 1.47 degrees Celsius (°C) compared to the average temperature of the pre-industrial era (1850-1900).

Higher temperature increases than this only occurred in 2024, when the average global temperature rose by 1.6 °C, and in 2023, which saw a temperature increase of 1.48 °C.

"2025 ranks as the third-warmest year on record," said C3S in its 2025 Global Climate Highlights report.

C3S stated that this global temperature increase coincided with the melting of sea ice and the emergence of extreme weather phenomena.

"Extreme events in 2025 had significant impacts on human health, ecosystems and infrastructure. Among the most exceptional events were flooding, extreme heat, drought, and wildfires," they said.

According to C3S, the record global temperature increases observed during the 2023-2025 period were influenced by two main factors.

First, the accumulation of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere. Second, the rise in sea surface temperatures across all oceans related to the El Niño phenomenon, amplified by climate change.

"Human activity remains the dominant driver of the exceptional temperatures we are observing. Atmospheric greenhouse gases have steadily increased over the last 10 years," said Laurence Rouil, Director of Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, in a press release (14/1/2026).

C3S also found that the last eleven years, specifically 2015-2025, constituted the warmest period in history, with consistent temperature increases above 1 °C per year.

"The fact that the last eleven years were the warmest on record provides further evidence of the unmistakable trend towards a hotter climate," said C3S Director Carlo Buontempo in a press release (14/1/2026).

"The world is rapidly approaching the long-term temperature limit set by the Paris agreement. We are bound to pass it; the choice we now have is how to best manage the inevitable overshoot and its consequences on societies and natural systems," Carlo said.