Bad news when it comes to climate is certainly nothing new. For years, records have been broken one after another in terms of rising global average temperatures and the concentration of greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere. Communicating the severity of new data is therefore particularly difficult. And yet, what is contained in the new annual report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is truly alarming.

Climate: the past decade has set global heat records

The document, titled State of the Global Climate 2025, and published on the occasion of World Meteorological Day, explains that the eleven hottest years ever recorded since temperatures began being systematically tracked all fall within the period from 2015 to 2025. Furthermore, the last year of the series in particular will likely rank (data still needs to be refined) second or third in this far-from-virtuous league table, with a global average temperature 1.43 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial period — that is, before humans began burning fossil fuels on a massive scale to power their industries, starting in the mid-nineteenth century.

The report also highlights the multiplication, as widely predicted by scientists, of extreme weather events: heat waves and droughts, torrential rainfall, wildfires, hurricanes, storms and floods, while at the same time ocean temperatures continue to rise and the extent of the Arctic ice cap shrinks relentlessly.

Extreme weather events increasingly frequent due to climate change: 41.1 degrees Celsius in California in the middle of winter

The most recent news comes from the west coast of the United States, where a heat dome in the middle of winter sent thermometers to staggering levels. In Phoenix, Arizona, the thermometer reached 38.9 degrees Celsius on 18 March. Even hotter in California: Palm Springs hit a record of 41.1 degrees, while in Fort Collins, Colorado, at an altitude of 1,525 metres, the mercury climbed to 28.9 degrees.

World Meteorological Organization @WMO

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As WMO unveils the Global #StateOfClimate 2025, @UN Secretary-General @antonioguterres calls for urgent action grounded in science.
📕Read the report: bit.ly/StateOfClimate…
📽️UNSG's full message: youtu.be/iijVBQbm3jg

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"The climate is in a state of emergency. The Earth is being pushed beyond its limits. All climate indicators are in the red," commented United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. "Humanity has just lived through the eleven hottest years on record. If something happens eleven times in a row, it cannot be a coincidence. It is a call to act." It is no coincidence that the theme chosen for this year's World Meteorological Day is "Observing today, protecting tomorrow".

https://twitter.com/WMO/status/2035989935157915735?s=20

Greenhouse gases: concentration at its highest in 800,000 years

For the first time, the report illustrates the Planet's "energy imbalance" — that is, the data relating to the energy entering and leaving the Earth system: "In a stable climate, the two values are roughly identical. This balance is, however, being destabilised by the very increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, which have reached their highest levels in at least 800,000 years."

Further confirming the ongoing climate changes, the WMO report finds that this imbalance has intensified since observations began in the 1960s. "Scientific progress allows us to better understand this indicator, as well as the reality currently faced by the Earth and its climate. Human activities are increasingly disrupting the natural balance, and we will have to live hundreds, perhaps thousands of years bearing the consequences," said the Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization, Celeste Saulo. She also highlighted how, in 2025 alone, extreme events caused thousands of deaths, affected millions of people and resulted in economic losses amounting to billions of dollars.

World Meteorological Organization @WMO

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Today is World Meteorological Day 🌍
Only by observing today can we protect tomorrow.

Be part of #WorldMetDay—and explore the findings of the WMO Global #StateOfClimate 2025.

🔴 LIVE at 1500 CET: bit.ly/4uB9ZhE
🎧 Live interpretation in all @UN official languages

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The harmful effects of CO2 on the oceans

The oceans are also suffering the consequences, as their average temperature, as mentioned, continues to rise. This contributes to sea level rise and the resulting flooding of coastal areas around the world. But ocean acidification is also a cause for concern, driven by the fact that CO2 produced by human activities and released into the atmosphere is largely absorbed by the oceans themselves.

The result is a change in pH (the acidity level) now considered irreversible for centuries, which will in turn have consequences for marine flora and fauna, with severe losses of biodiversity.

UN News @UN_News_Centre

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Earth's climate is "more out of balance than at any time in observed history" as global warming speeds up, @WMO warns.

news.un.org/en/story/2026/…

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Despite all this, humanity continues undeterred to burn coal, oil and gas, and to develop available alternatives at nowhere near the necessary pace. The inadequacy of governments' action is thrown into even sharper relief whenever an international crisis arises: "In these times of war, climate stress reveals another truth: our dependence on fossil fuels destabilises not only the climate but also global security. The report published today by the WMO tells us that climate chaos is accelerating and that any further dithering will be fatal," concluded Guterres.