According to data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service (ERA5 dataset), January 2025 was the warmest January ever recorded globally, with an average surface air temperature of 13.23°C, making it 0.79°C warmer than the 1991-2020 average. The month was also 1.75°C warmer than pre-industrial levels (1850-1900), continuing a concerning warming trend.
This marks the 18th month in a 19-month period where global-average surface temperatures exceeded 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Among these months, 12—spanning September 2023 to April 2024, and October 2024 to January 2025—exceeded 1.58°C, with some nearing 1.78°C above pre-industrial temperatures. While some months in this period were slightly closer to the 1.5°C threshold, the overall trend highlights persistent and alarming temperature increases.
In Europe, January 2025 was the second-warmest January on record, with an average temperature of 1.80°C—2.51°C above the 1991-2020 average. It was only 0.13°C cooler than January 2020, which remains the warmest January for the continent. It also surpassed January 2007, now the third warmest January, by 0.10°C.
While European temperature anomalies tend to be more variable, the continent’s dense observational network ensures high data reliability. The ongoing trend of record-breaking temperatures underscores the growing impacts of climate change and the urgency for climate action at both regional and global levels.
