Copernicus: Global and European temperatures in 2025 were the third‑highest on record

Brussels – Global temperatures in 2025 were the third highest on record, according to data released today (14 January) by the EU’s Copernicus Global Climate Highlights report. Last year was just 0.01 °C below the levels recorded in 2023, and while 2024 remains the warmest year ever documented, 2025 follows closely behind with temperatures significantly above historical averages. Last year was also the third-warmest year on record for Europe.

The Copernicus report, coordinated with the United Nations World Meteorological Organisation and other national climate monitoring organisations, highlights that air temperatures over land were the second-highest ever recorded. Both poles experienced extreme conditions: Antarctica saw its warmest annual temperature on record, while the Arctic recorded its second-warmest.

Current warming trends suggest the Paris Agreement goal to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C could be reached by the end of this decade, more than ten years earlier than what was projected when the agreement was first signed.

The intense heat of the 2023–2025 period is linked to two primary factors. First, greenhouse gases continue to accumulate in the atmosphere as emissions rise and natural carbon sinks, such as forests, struggle to absorb CO2. Second, sea-surface temperatures reached unprecedented levels, fuelled by strong and warmer weather patterns and long-term ocean warming caused by climate change. These record-breaking annual temperatures came with a series of extreme weather events across the globe, from record-breaking heatwaves and severe storms to devastating wildfires.

The EU is continuing its efforts to achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement and, according to the Commission, “is fully committed to becoming climate neutral by 2050.” This year, it will present a new European Framework for climate resilience and risk management to better prepare the EU for climate risks and build climate resilience.