The year 2025 is on course to match 2023 and become the second warmest year ever documented, according to new data released today by the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).
Copernicus reports that November 2025 was the third warmest November globally ever recorded, continuing an alarming trend of rising temperatures driven by human-induced climate change.
Across the first eleven months of the year, global temperatures were 0.6°C above the 1991–2020 average, and 1.48°C higher than the pre-industrial baseline (1850–1900). These figures reveal that 2025 is virtually certain to conclude as the second or third hottest year on record, pending final December data.
While 2024 remains the warmest year ever measured, 2025 is showing nearly identical temperature levels to 2023—pushing the planet further into unprecedented territory.
Extreme Weather Intensifies
Copernicus highlights that November was marked by destructive extreme weather events, including tropical cyclones across Southeast Asia, which triggered widespread flooding and significant loss of life. Rising temperatures continue to amplify the frequency and severity of such events worldwide.
November 2025 recorded a global average surface temperature of 14.02°C, which is 0.65°C above the 1991–2020 average, making it the third warmest November after 2023 and 2024.
Crossing the 1.5°C Threshold
A particularly alarming milestone may be reached: Copernicus data indicates that the three-year period 2023–2025 is likely to exceed the 1.5°C warming threshold relative to the pre-industrial era—for the first time over a multi-year period.
This threshold was central to the Paris Agreement, which aimed to limit global warming to well below 2°C and ideally to 1.5°C.
However, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warns that surpassing the 1.5°C threshold now appears inevitable, though he hopes the overshoot will be temporary.
“These milestones are not abstract—they reflect the accelerating pace of climate change,” said Samantha Burgess, Deputy Director of C3S. “The only way to limit future temperature increases is by rapidly reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”
Climate Action Stalls on the International Stage
Despite the urgency, global momentum appears to be weakening. Climate negotiations at COP30 in Belém produced only a cautious consensus, with no agreement to phase out fossil fuels—and the United States notably absent from the talks.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was unable to convince major fossil-fuel-producing nations and emerging economies to endorse a strong collective commitment to accelerate the transition away from oil, gas, and coal.
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