Climate 2025: A World on the Edge

The latest climate data shows the planet is heating faster than ever. 2025 has become one of the hottest years recorded, with temperatures exceeding pre‑industrial levels by more than 1. 4°C. This sharp rise follows a trend that has accelerated since the mid‑2010s, despite growing investments in renewable energy. Carbon emissions are climbing to record highs. Global fossil‑fuel CO₂ output is expected to hit about 38 billion tonnes in 2025, a rise of roughly 1. 1% from last year. This increase pushes atmospheric CO₂ concentrations to about 52 percent above pre‑industrial levels, leaving only a small margin for future emissions if the world aims to stay below 1. 5 °C warming. Different regions show varied patterns. China, India, the United States and the European Union are projected to add more emissions, while Japan is expected to cut them. Even with these differences, the overall trend points toward a widening gap between current emissions and what is needed to meet climate targets.The Arctic is experiencing the fastest warming. NOAA’s 2025 Arctic Report Card reports that the last year was the warmest since 1900, and sea‑ice extent hit its lowest winter maximum in March 2025. The region is warming more than twice as fast as the global average, threatening ecosystems and communities that depend on sea ice. Ocean heat content has reached a new record. NOAA and Berkeley Earth find that 2025 saw the highest upper‑ocean heat content ever measured. Rising sea levels are also a concern, with projections from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change indicating an increase of 0. 20–0. 29 metres by 2050 relative to the 1995‑2014 baseline. These findings underscore that current measures are insufficient. The planet is on a trajectory that could miss the goals set by the Paris Agreement, highlighting an urgent need for stronger action on emissions and climate resilience.