According to the latest report from the World Meteorological Organization, the years 2015-2025 have become the warmest period in recorded history. Despite slight temperature fluctuations, the overall trend indicates irreversible changes in the biosphere, including record levels of carbon dioxide and a sharp reduction in glacial cover in the polar regions of the planet, news agencies report.
Ocean warmth. We often assess warming by air temperature; however, this is only part of the overall picture. Oceans, with their high heat capacity, function as vast heat reservoirs. Since 91% of excess energy is absorbed by water, this creates a hidden inertia that will preserve the impact of accumulated heat on climate and sea level for centuries, leading to water expansion and the melting of shelf glaciers.
According to the World Meteorological Organization's report "State of the Global Climate 2025," humanity has reached a critical temperature level. Last year was one of the three hottest on record, second only to the record set in 2024. Scientists are observing not only rising surface temperatures but also unprecedented ocean warming, as well as historically low levels of sea ice in the Arctic and Antarctic since 1979.
Researchers emphasize that the speed of changes leaves no doubt about their anthropogenic nature. As climatologist Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick from the Australian National University notes: "We seem to be entering a new era where temperatures will significantly exceed those observed ten years ago."
The last three years have shown such significant changes that they can only be explained by global climate change driven by human activity. The accumulation of greenhouse gases—carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide—has reached record levels over the past two million years, pushing the climate system beyond its natural variability.
Planetary Energy Imbalance
One significant innovation in the report is the Earth Energy Imbalance (EEI) indicator. This parameter more accurately reflects the ongoing processes than traditional air temperature measurements. EEI represents the difference between the energy Earth receives from the Sun and the energy radiated back into space.
Due to the dense atmosphere saturated with greenhouse gases, excess heat remains in the system. In 2025, this imbalance reached its highest level in recorded history since 1960. Experts believe that only about 1% of excess heat is absorbed by the atmosphere, while over 91% goes into the ocean. This makes the EEI a more reliable indicator of long-term warming, as it is less susceptible to short-term fluctuations associated with volcanic activity or climate cycles such as La Niña.
In addition to environmental consequences, the heat also leads to humanitarian crises: changes in precipitation patterns have created ideal conditions for mosquito breeding, making dengue fever one of the fastest-growing viral threats in the world.
The article "The World has Experienced 11 Hottest Years in Recorded History" was published on the K-News website.
