Global Climate Highlights 2025 report

This report  provides a global overview of key climate conditions observed throughout 2025. It delivers authoritative climate intelligence based on observational datasets, covering major indicators such as surface air temperature, sea surface temperature, heat stress, and Arctic and Antarctic sea ice extent. The publication aims to monitor planetary-scale climate variability and long-term warming trends through consolidated, data-driven analysis.

The report finds that 2025 ranked among the warmest years on record, with global temperatures only marginally lower than 2023, while 2024 remained the first year to exceed 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Surface air temperatures were above average across 91% of the globe, with nearly half experiencing much warmer-than-average conditions. Record or near-record temperature anomalies were observed in polar regions, alongside historically high sea surface temperatures and the lowest February global sea ice extent in the satellite record. Additionally, half of the planet experienced an above-average number of strong heat stress days, reinforcing evidence of persistent, long-term global warming trends.