According to official data published today by the European observatory Copernicus, 2025 is expected to equal – or even surpass – 2023, recording the second hottest year ever noted globally, sounding the alarm bell for climate change.
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This year’s November was recorded as the third warmest November of all time, a fact that confirms the continuous rise in temperatures on a planetary level.
Deviations – alarm bell for climate change
The global average temperature from January to November 2025 was:
- 0.60°C above the average for the period 1991–2020
- 1.48°C above the pre-industrial period (1850–1900)
This represents a temperature level almost identical to 2023, while December data may “seal” 2025 as one of the hottest years recorded to date, after 2024 which is already considered a milestone.
Extreme phenomena in constant surge
Copernicus notes that climate disruption was intensely reflected in extreme disasters:
- tropical cyclones in Southeast Asia
- extensive flooding
- heavy human losses
Climate episodes are now becoming more frequent, intense and destructive, with human activity (emissions, fossil fuel burning) remaining the main accelerator.
Copernicus data shows that the 2023–2025 temperature average will exceed the symbolic limit of 1.5°C compared to the pre-industrial period – not occasionally, but on a scale of three consecutive years. The Paris Agreement aimed to stay below 2°C, with a desirable limit of +1.5°C. However, as UN Secretary-General António Guterres acknowledges, exceeding this limit “is now unavoidable,” with hope remaining that it stays temporary.
Reduced international ambition and increased climate risk
Despite the dramatic picture, the recent COP30 in Belém did not produce a plan for fossil fuel phase-out or a collective timeline for accelerating green transition. Brazilian President Lula failed to lead oil-producing and emerging economies to a common framework for disengagement from fossil fuels, with the US completely absent from the final conference.
In November, the largest temperature deviations were recorded in northern Canada, below the Arctic Ocean and in Antarctica. These areas function as critical “regulators” of global climate, making the thermal anomalies even more worrying. The scientific community warns clearly: slowing climate change depends exclusively on immediate and deep reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, before climate milestones transform from worrying to irreversible.
