The year has started with yet another climate milestone, as January 2025 became the warmest January ever recorded. This continues a trend of extreme global temperatures, even as the world shifts towards the cooler La Niña weather pattern, scientists reported.
According to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), January marked the 18th out of the last 19 months where global temperatures exceeded the 1.5°C threshold above pre-industrial levels. This ongoing heat surge comes despite the fading of El Niño, which contributed to 2024 being the hottest year on record, and the gradual transition to La Niña.
Typically, La Niña leads to a cooling effect by bringing colder waters to the equatorial Pacific, but that hasn’t been enough to counteract rising global temperatures. “The fact that we’re still experiencing record-breaking warmth outside of El Niño’s influence is surprising,” noted Samantha Burgess, a lead scientist at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts.
In January, the global average temperature was 1.75°C higher than pre-industrial levels. However, experts suggest that La Niña has not yet fully developed. Some climate models indicate neutral conditions, while others, including US research teams, believe La Niña has already begun.
Even if La Niña strengthens, it might not be enough to lower global temperatures significantly. Other factors, such as excessive heat in various ocean basins and the continued emission of greenhouse gases, are driving climate change. “The biggest contributor to global warming remains the burning of fossil fuels,” Burgess emphasized.
Looking ahead, scientists from Berkeley Earth and the UK Met Office predict that 2025 could be the third-warmest year on record, following 2023 and 2024. However, they caution that the exact impact of La Niña remains uncertain.
Meanwhile, global sea surface temperatures in January were the second-highest ever recorded for the month, only surpassed by January 2024.
