The record for the "hottest year" may be broken again within this decade, warns the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). So far, 2024 holds the record as the warmest year, with global surface temperatures surpassing the critical 1.5°C threshold. According to the WMO, there is a 70% chance that the average global temperature for the five-year period from 2025 to 2029 will also exceed this limit. Such a trend raises serious concerns, as consistently crossing this threshold could have significant and lasting impacts on the planet’s climate system, signaling a dangerous escalation in global warming.

Global warming is measured based on the average surface temperature of the Earth between 1850 and 1900, which was approximately 13.7°C. This period is considered the baseline because it predates the rapid and environmentally harmful phase of industrialization. Environmentalists believe that the sharp increase in industrial activity following this era—driven by fossil fuels and large-scale emissions—is primarily responsible for the current rise in global temperatures. They argue that human actions, especially since the onset of this "fast and dangerous" industrial phase, are the main contributors to climate change and the ongoing warming of the planet.

According to the 2015 Paris Agreement, the goal is to keep the rise in the Earth’s average surface temperature below 1.5°C compared to pre-industrial levels, with a 2°C increase considered extremely dangerous. The baseline average temperature between 1850 and 1900 was around 13.7°C. However, in 2024, global surface temperatures were already 1.55°C above that baseline. Environmentalists warn that while surpassing the 1.5°C limit in a single year is concerning, exceeding it in long-term averages signals a much more severe threat.


This warning is echoed in the latest report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which states there is a strong likelihood—not only that the average temperature between 2025 and 2029 will remain above 1.5°C, but also that one of these years may surpass the 2024 record.

Ko Barrett, Deputy Secretary-General of the WMO, noted, “We’ve witnessed ten consecutive years of record-breaking heat, and unfortunately, we are likely to see more such years ahead. This rising temperature trend will negatively impact the global economy, ecosystems, our daily lives, and the planet as a whole.”


In 2023, global temperatures rose by 1.45°C, a level already deemed highly alarming by many scientists. A 2018 UN report had warned that humanity only had until around 2030 to significantly reduce emissions to prevent catastrophic climate impacts. If urgent action is not taken, melting glaciers in the polar regions and mountain ranges like the Himalayas could cause sea levels to rise by over three feet by 2100, potentially displacing over 670 million people worldwide.


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