Brussels: January 2025 was the warmest on record globally. The EU-funded Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) reported the findings on Thursday.
The average surface temperature was 0.79 degrees Celsius above the 1991-2000 January average. It was also 1.75 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. In Europe, temperatures rose 2.51 degrees above the 1991-2000 January average.
“Outside Europe, temperatures were most above average in Canada, Alaska, and Siberia. Southern South America, Africa, Australia, and Antarctica also saw above-average temperatures,” the report stated.
The average sea surface temperature between 60 degrees north and 60 degrees south was 20.78 degrees Celsius. This was the second-highest January level recorded, following January 2024.
“January 2025 is another surprising month. It continues the record temperatures of the last two years, despite the cooling effect of La Niña in the Pacific,” said Samantha Burgess, Deputy Director of C3S.
The report also revealed that Arctic Sea ice reached its lowest January extent. It was six percent below average.
Last month, C3S confirmed that 2024 was the first full year where global temperatures exceeded 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. This threshold is a key target in the Paris Agreement.
The agreement aims to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius. It also hopes to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century.
