The United Nations (UN) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) have issued a stark warning that the world is accelerating toward an irreversible climate crisis, with 2025 projected to be one of the three hottest years on record in the WMO's 176-year temperature history.
The WMO report indicates that 2023, 2024, and 2025 will be the three warmest years ever recorded. Every year since 2015 is expected to rank among the hottest in history.
The WMO reported that greenhouse gas concentrations have hit a new high, promising to retain even more heat in the future. WHO Director-General Selestí São stated that it has become "nearly impossible" to restrict global warming to the 1.5 degrees Celsius target set by the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement in the coming years.
São added that due to "unprecedented warming," the world will "temporarily surpass the 1.5-degree threshold in the next few years." The global average temperature during the first eight months of 2025 was already 1.42 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial level.
Despite the grim outlook, scientific evidence suggests it is still possible to lower the temperature again by the end of the century, making a return to the 1.5-degree target crucial.
This urgent report comes just ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP-30), which is scheduled to begin next week in Brazil. The UN cautioned that if the current warming trend persists, the climate crisis may reach an irreversible point.
