The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has issued its annual assessment of the state of the global climate, which finds that 2015-2025 is the warmest period on record. At about 1.43°C above the 1850-1900 average, 2025 was the second or third warmest year on record, according to the report.

The ‘State of the Global Climate 2025’ report covers key observed global climate indicators – global temperature, greenhouse gases (GHGs), ocean heat, sea level, ocean pH, sea-ice extent, glacier mass balance, and, for the first time, Earth’s energy imbalance. It highlights El Niño – Southern Oscillation and the Indian Ocean Dipole among the key climate drivers and unpacks selected high-impact weather and climate events of 2025 such as heat and cold extremes, floods, droughts, and tropical cyclones. The report also features a case study on climate and heat impacts on health.

The past three years are the three warmest years in the 176‑year land and ocean observational record, according to the report. It shows that the warming at the surface and throughout the troposphere accounts for only 1% of the excess energy trapped by GHGs, while around 91% has been absorbed by the ocean in the form of heat, 3% is responsible for warming and melting ice, and 5% is stored in the continents. The report further shows that in the past decade, the ocean has also absorbed around 29% of the anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), contributing to ocean acidification.  

The findings demonstrate that in 2025, ocean heat content reached a new high, and the annual maximum extent of sea ice in the Arctic was the lowest or second lowest in the observed records. The report shows significant losses in the mass of ice sheets on Antarctica and Greenland since satellite records began. Their melting, along with that of ice on land from glaciers, and the warming ocean have contributed to the long-term rise in global mean sea level, the rate of which has increased since satellite observations began in 1993.

Together, the report notes, “[t]hese rapid large-scale changes in the Earth system have cascading impacts on human and natural systems, contributing to food insecurity and displacement where hazards intersect with high vulnerability and limited adaptive capacity.”

“WMO’s State of the Global Climate report seeks to inform decision-making,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo. “It is in keeping with the theme of World Meteorological Day because when we observe today, we don’t just predict the weather, we protect tomorrow,” she emphasized. Marked on 23 March, World Meteorological Day 2026 focused on the theme, ‘Observing Today, Protecting Tomorrow.’

Released on 23 March 2026, the report complements the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and other bodies by presenting “a timely, consolidated global assessment of the year’s climate conditions.” It was produced by WMO in collaboration with National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHS), international data centers, climate research institutions, and UN partners. [Publication: State of the Global Climate 2025] [Publication Landing Page] [Online Report] [WMO Press Release]