After a year marked by extreme events, new climate data confirm that 2025 ranks as the third warmest year ever recorded globally. The period saw catastrophic wildfires destroying parts of Los Angeles, an unusually strong cyclone hitting Southeast Asia, and prolonged drought in Iran so severe that authorities began considering relocating the capital.

According to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, 2025 also became the third consecutive year in which the global average temperature exceeded the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold above pre-industrial levels. Mauro Facchini, who oversees Earth observation at the European Commission, described this development as a milestone that scientists had long hoped to avoid.

Climate researchers have repeatedly warned that surpassing the 1.5 degree limit set in the 2015 Paris Agreement significantly increases the risks of prolonged heatwaves, deadly floods and more destructive storms. Copernicus Climate Change Service Director Carlo Buontempo said current trends show the world moving toward breaching this limit over the long term. He stressed that the key decision now facing societies is how to manage the unavoidable overshoot and limit its damage to people and ecosystems.

Scientists broadly agree that the response must combine rapid cuts in greenhouse gas emissions with large-scale adaptation to a warmer climate. This means shifting away from fossil fuels while also preparing for more frequent climate shocks. At last year’s UN climate summit, governments pledged 120 billion US dollars, equivalent to about 102 billion euros or roughly 200 billion leva, to help vulnerable countries finance adaptation measures such as sea defenses, early warning systems and drought-resistant agriculture. However, past experience shows that financial commitments do not always translate into concrete action.

The persistent rise in global temperatures continues to be driven primarily by greenhouse gas emissions from burning coal, oil and gas for energy and transport. These gases trap heat in the atmosphere and are closely linked to the growing number of extreme weather events worldwide. The situation is further aggravated by the destruction of forests and other natural carbon sinks that would otherwise absorb carbon dioxide.

Data from 2025 clearly show that human activity remains the dominant cause of the unusually high temperatures, said Laurence Rouil, head of Copernicus’s atmosphere monitoring service. He noted that concentrations of greenhouse gases have steadily increased over the past decade. In recent years, this long-term trend was intensified by a particularly strong El Niño episode in 2023 and 2024, a recurring climate pattern that releases stored ocean heat into the atmosphere.

The effects were visible across the planet. Copernicus reported record-low sea ice levels at both the Arctic and Antarctic in 2025. Antarctica also registered its warmest year on record, while around half of the world’s land surface experienced significantly more days of dangerous heat than normal. As Rouil put it, the atmosphere is delivering a clear warning, and ignoring it is no longer an option.