January 2025 was the warmest January on record, surpassing the previous record set by January 2024, according to satellite data from the EU’s Copernicus program. The findings were unexpected as ongoing La Niña conditions in the Pacific typically cool down global temperatures. The global average surface air temperature for the month reached 1.75° Celsius (3.15° F) above pre-industrial levels. The most dramatic variation, up to 6°C (10.8°F), was concentrated in northern Canada, Russia and the Scandinavian countries. “The heat waves across much of the oceans have become larger and stronger, so the influence of La Niña is being overwhelmed,” Jennifer Francis, an Arctic expert at the Woodwell Climate Research Center in the U.S. not involved with the Copernicus report, told Mongabay by email. “The Arctic has been warming about four times faster than the globe as a whole, and right now it’s running a dangerous fever.” January 2025 was warmer than January 2024, previously the hottest January on record. Image courtesy of Copernicus Climate Change Service/ECMWF. In 2024, a record-breaking El Niño, known for driving up global temperatures, contributed to making every month between January and June the warmest on record for those months. According to Copernicus researchers, 18 out of the last 19 months had recorded temperatures at least 1.5°C (2.7°F) above pre-industrial levels, breaching the threshold set out in the Paris Agreement to limit global warming. “January 2025 is another surprising month, continuing the record temperatures observed throughout the last two years,” Samantha Burgess, strategic lead for climate…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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