The World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) State of the Global Climate 2025 report warned on Monday that the Earth’s climate is more unbalanced than ever before.
The report included Earth’s energy imbalance, measuring the rate at which energy enters and exits the Earth’s system, as one of the key climate indicators for the first time. In a stable climate, the energy received from the Sun is approximately equal to the amount of energy released. The World Meteorological Organization said increasing concentrations of global warming greenhouse gases have upset this balance.
Energy imbalances on Earth have increased since the observational record began in 1960, and especially in the past 20 years. It will reach a new high in 2025. Atmospheric warming, including near the Earth’s surface, accounts for only 1% of the excess energy. The World Meteorological Organization said that about 5% of it is stored in continental land masses. She added that more than 91% of excess heat is stored in the ocean, which acts as a major barrier against high temperatures on Earth.
Ocean heat content will reach a new record high in 2025. The rate of ocean warming has doubled from 1960-2005 to 2005-2025. Another 3% of the excess energy heats and melts the ice.
The Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization, Celeste Saulo, said that scientific progress has led to an improved understanding of the energy imbalance on Earth and the reality facing the planet and the climate currently. “Human activities are increasingly disrupting the natural balance, and we will live with these consequences for hundreds and thousands of years,” Saulo said in a statement.
Data from individual monitoring stations show that levels of three major greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide – continued to increase in 2025. In 2024, the last year with standardized global observations, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reached its highest level in the past 2 million years, and methane and nitrous oxide in at least 800,000 years.
The increase in annual carbon dioxide concentration in 2024 was the largest annual increase since modern measurements began in 1957, the World Meteorological Organization said. “This was driven by continued fossil carbon dioxide emissions and a decline in the effectiveness of terrestrial and ocean carbon sinks.”
The report concluded that 2025 was the second or third warmest year in the 176-year observational record, which reflects a shift to La Niña conditions that temporarily cool the planet. The annual average global near-surface temperature was about 1.43°C higher than the pre-industrial average for the period 1850-1900 last year. 2024, which began with a strong El Niño, remains the warmest year at about 1.55 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
In 2025, ocean heat content (to a depth of 2,000 metres) will reach its highest level since records began in 1960, surpassing 2024 levels. Over the past nine years, each year has set a new record for ocean heat content, the World Meteorological Organization said.
Last year, global average sea level was similar to the record highs observed in 2024, about 11 cm higher than at the start of the satellite altimetry record in 1993.
In the hydrological year 2024/2025, glacier mass loss from reference glaciers was among the five worst on record. The 2025 average annual Arctic sea ice extent was the lowest or second lowest recorded in the satellite era (1979). The average Antarctic sea ice extent for 2025 was the third lowest after 2023 and 2024.
An appendix to the report provides a snapshot of extreme events, based on inputs from WMO members, the International Organization for Migration, the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the World Food Programme, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, with a focus on meteorological aspects and impacts related to displacement and food security.
Extreme weather has cascading effects on agricultural production. Climate-induced food insecurity is now viewed as a risk, with cascading impacts on social stability, migration and biosecurity through the spread of plant pests and animal diseases, the World Meteorological Organization said.
Dengue fever is emerging as the fastest growing mosquito-borne disease in the world. According to the World Health Organization, about half of the world’s population is at risk, and reported cases are the highest ever. More than a third of the global workforce (1.2 billion people) face heat hazards in the workplace at some time each year, especially in the agriculture and construction sectors.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the global climate situation is in a state of emergency. “Planet Earth is being pushed beyond its limits. Every major climate indicator is flashing red.” He said that this is the clear message of the latest report issued by the World Meteorological Organization.
Guterres said the report confirms that the energy imbalance on Earth – the gap between heat absorbed and heat released – is the highest it has ever been. “In other words, our planet is trapping heat faster than it can get rid of it,” he added. “In this age of war, climate pressures are also revealing another truth: our addiction to fossil fuels is destabilizing climate and global security. Now more than ever, we must accelerate a just transition to renewable energy. Renewable energy provides climate security, energy security, and national security.”
HT reported last month that weather models show increasing confidence that El Niño conditions will develop in the second half of 2026. There is a 60% chance of El Niño occurring during August, October, September and November.
In January, the probability of an El Niño occurring during or after the monsoon was 50 percent, according to the latest forecast from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. El Niño years usually bring weak monsoons and harsh summers to India.
