According to the latest findings from the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), published in December 2025, it is confirmed that 2025 will be among the warmest years on record. As by the end of the calendar year only one month left, it is assumed that 2025 will end up as the second or third warmest year in the history of measurements, right after 2024, with the potential to match 2023.

The global average temperature anomaly from January to November 2025 reached 1.48°C above the pre-industrial baseline (1850–1900), which is identical to the results recorded in 2023. These data, based on the ERA5 dataset, point to the accelerating pace of climate change, with the only way to mitigate future temperature increases being to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Exceeding the critical limit point of 1.5 °C

The climate milestones reached in 2025 are particularly worrying. According to the ERA5 dataset, it is expected that the global three-year average temperature for 2023-2025 will exceed 1.5°C for the first time above pre-industrial levels in the instrumental period,.

November 2025 itself was the third warmest November on record worldwide,,. The average air temperature at the Earth's surface in November reached 14.02 °C. Globally, November 2025 was 1.54 °C warmer than the pre-industrial average from 1850–1900, making it the 28th month in the ERA5 dataset to exceed 1.5 °C,. Despite this record, November 2025 was slightly cooler than November 2023 and November 2024.

Seasonal measurements also confirmed the trend of above-average temperatures. Boreal autumn in 2025 (September – November) was worldwide the third warmest in the history of measurements, colder only than the autumns of 2023 and 2024.

Regional impacts and ice loss

Although temperature anomalies were widespread globally, particularly strong positive anomalies were recorded over Northern Canada, the Arctic Ocean, and Antarctica. In general, temperatures were most above average in the polar regions, including northeastern Canada, the Canadian Archipelago, much of the United States, and East Antarctica.

Europe has recorded fifth warmest November in the history of measurements. The average temperature in Europe in November 2025 was 5.74 °C, which is 1.38 °C above the average for the reference period 1991–2020. The most significant above-average temperatures were concentrated in Eastern Europe, Russia, the Balkans and Turkey, while colder conditions were in northern Sweden, Finland and Iceland.

Temperature anomalies were also reflected in the state of the ice cover:

1. Arctic sea ice: Cover growth was slower than average, leading to the second lowest monthly range for November (12 % below the 1991–2020 average). Low ice concentrations were recorded in the western Eurasian sector (around Svalbard, Franz Josef Land, and the Kara Sea), coinciding with significantly above-average air temperatures.
2. Antarctic sea ice: The monthly range for November 2025 was 7 % below average, ranking it at fourth lowest November range in the measurement history.

Extreme hydrological conditions

In Europe they took turns heavy rains and drought,. Wetter conditions affected the United Kingdom, Ireland, Portugal, Spain and the Balkans, where Storm Claudia brought heavy rainfall and localised flooding. On the other hand, drier than average conditions persisted in Iceland, central Germany and Sweden. Drought warnings remained in place, particularly in south-eastern Europe, including south-western Russia, Ukraine and Turkey.

Findings published by the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) in the Monthly Climate Bulletin highlight that extreme temperatures and associated hydrological anomalies make 2025 a key point signaling the ongoing and intensifying impact of climate change. JRi

Full report climate.copernicus.eu