You weren’t the only one who thought last month was warm; even European Union scientists felt the same way.
The European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) has announced that the world has just experienced its hottest January on record.
Why Was January So Hot?
The influence of El Nino, characterised by warmer surface waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean, contributed significantly to the increased temperatures observed last year. Remarkably, every month from June onward, a new record was set for being the hottest compared to the same months in previous years.
“This is the eighth month in a row that is the warmest on record for the respective month of the year,” C3S said in its assessment.
Samantha Burgess, the Deputy Director of C3S, emphasised the gravity of the situation, stating, “Not only is it the warmest January on record, but we have also just experienced a 12-month period of more than 1.5 C above the pre-industrial reference period.” She further stressed that “Rapid reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are the only way to stop global temperatures increasing.”
Scientists at Berkeley Earth and the UK Met Office have said they expect 2025 to be the third-warmest year on record – cooler than 2024 and 2023 because of the shift towards La Nina, though uncertainties remain about how the phenomenon will develop.
