Warmest January on record smashes global temperatures and leaves climate scientists alarmed

6 February 2025, 13:59 | Updated: 6 February 2025, 14:47

Last month was the warmest January on record, according to new data.

Global average temperatures in January were 1.75°C higher than they were before the significant rise in greenhouse gas emissions that began with the industrial revolution about 150 years ago, according to data from the European Copernicus climate service.

This is 0.1°C higher than the record set in January of last year.

The figures follow a year in which temperatures surpassed the 1.5°C threshold—an important target in climate discussions—for the first time.

The announcement has raised concerns among scientists due to the rapid pace of climate change.

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January 2025 was expected to be slightly cooler than the previous year, which was the hottest January on record, due to the cooling effects of the "La Niña" weather pattern in the Pacific.

However, last month ended up being 0.79°C warmer than the global average for January from 1991-2020 and 1.75°C higher than pre-industrial levels, according to scientists from the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).

This surpassed the record set in January 2024 by nearly 0.1°C.

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It marks the 18th time in the last 19 months that average global air surface temperatures were more than 1.5°C above levels from 1850-1900.

The C3S analysis is based on billions of measurements collected from satellites, ships, aircraft, and weather stations worldwide.