The European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) says January 2025 was the hottest January on record.
In a report published on Thursday, the organisation said January 2025 was 1.75°C above the pre-industrial level, and the 18th month in the last nineteen months to surpass the global average surface air temperature of 1.5°C.
The world temperature has been rising, with 2024 declared the hottest year in history and the first to exceed the 1.5°C threshold.
The report said temperature was above average over southern South America, Africa, and parts of Australia and Antarctica.
C3S said January 2025 saw an average surface air temperature of 13.23°C, 0.79°C above the 1991-2020 average, and an average sea surface temperature (SST) of 20.78°C—the second-highest value on record for the month after January 2024.
Samantha Burgess, strategic lead for climate at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), said that despite the emergence of La Niña conditions, temperatures have continued to rise.
She said C3S will continue to monitor ocean temperature throughout the year.
“January 2025 is another surprising month, continuing the record temperatures observed throughout the last two years, despite the development of La Niña conditions in the tropical Pacific and their temporary cooling effect on global temperatures,” Burgess said.
“Copernicus will continue to closely monitor ocean temperatures and their influence on our evolving climate throughout 2025.”
In January the National Oceanic Atmospheric Agency (NOAA) announced the emergence of La Niña conditions—cooling of sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean.
Though weak, the emergence of La Niña usually causes above-average rainfall and colder winters, leading to floods and more intense hurricanes. Yet, temperatures have continued to rise, even more than ever.
