Asia has witnessed a number of extreme weather events, including floods, extreme heat, drought and damaging rain, with the average annual temperature in 2025 recording 0.96°C ± 0.08 above the long-period average of 1991-2020, found the latest “State of the Climate in Asia 2025”, released by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on June 17.
The latest Asia Climate Assessment found that Japan, China and the Republic of Korea all recorded their hottest summers on record, while prolonged heatwaves affected Central Asia, parts of western Asia and the Arabian Peninsula, meaning all 23 glaciers monitored high in Asia’s mountains lost mass, driven by above-average temperatures and below-average winter snowfall.
“The annual mean surface air temperature over Asian landmasses in 2025 ranks second and fourth warmest on record. The 2025 temperature anomaly was 0.96°C above the 1991-2020 climatological mean and 1.90°C above the 1961-1990 baseline. Temperatures were above average over most parts of the region, except in parts of South Asia. The strongest cases were observed Positive anomalies in the northwest The report said: “In regions and across a broad belt extending from western China to Japan, cooler than average conditions prevailed in South Asia, including the Indian subcontinent.”
Overall, the assessment also found an increase in ocean heat content, which indirectly changes storm tracks, increases ocean stratification and can lead to changes in marine ecosystems; Sea level rise and increased ocean acidification.
Ocean heat content (OHC) in the Asian region has increased since the 1990s, and a new record high was set in 2025 for the entire time series. During the period 1999-2025, sea levels in almost all coastal areas in the northern Indian Ocean rose much faster than the global average (3.6 mm per year), the assessment said, adding that record low pH values were also recorded in 2025 across the Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal and the tropical Indian Ocean.
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It also said that, in 2025, mean sea surface temperatures (SST) in Asia fell after record levels in 2024, but remained within the range of historically high values in the past 10 years.
She added: “Sea surface temperatures have reached record values in some parts of the region, such as the Kara Sea and its north, the Sea of Okhotsk, the Sea of Japan, the East China Sea, and the Bay of Bengal.”
The Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization, Celeste Saulo, said that Asia is affected by rising temperatures, rising ocean water temperatures, rising sea levels, and the retreat of glaciers.
“Heavy rainfall, floods and droughts have a huge economic and human cost, while extreme heat, dust storms and ice floods are becoming major risks,” she said. “This report highlights the importance of observations, early warning systems and impact-based forecasting to adapt to our changing climate.”
Armida Salesiah Alisjabana, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), also expressed concern about growing climate threats in Asia.
“Across Asia and the Pacific, heat is intensifying multi-hazard hazards, intersecting food systems, public health, infrastructure and oceans and imposing new pressures on health and livelihoods. Early warning and early action save lives when warnings are timely, messages are reliable, and last-mile delivery reaches the vulnerable. Resilience is built over time, through a sustainable culture of preparedness,” she added.
The annual assessment report is prepared by WMO in cooperation with national meteorological and hydrological services, international data centres, leading climate research institutions, and United Nations partners.
