The year 2025 is on track to set a new temperature record globally, and it is already positioned as the second warmest year since meteorological records began.
By November, the planet reached figures that tie with 2023, while that month became the third hottest documented.
This was reported on Tuesday by the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S): according to the entity, between January and November, the average surface air temperature was 0.60 ºC above the average recorded between 1991 and 2020.
This is equivalent to 1.48 ºC above the estimated temperature for the pre-industrial period (1850-1900).
The anomalies recorded are identical to those of the entire 2023, currently the second warmest year to date.
According to C3S, it is practically certain that 2025 will end near a temperature record.
If not, it would still be positioned as the second or third warmest year documented, behind 2024.
November 2025 recorded an extreme temperature in polar regions
Last month the average surface air temperature was 14.02 ºC, which is 0.65 ºC above the average for November.
The notably higher temperatures than average were recorded especially in northern Canada, the Arctic Ocean, and Antarctica.
In Europe, the average temperature in November was 5.74 °C, that is, 1.38°C above the average for that month. It was the fifth warmest November on the continent.
Temperatures were above average in:
- Eastern Europe, Russia, the Balkans, and Turkey
- Northeast Canada and the Canadian archipelago
- United States and the Arctic Ocean
- Eastern Antarctica
Meanwhile, lower than average temperatures were observed mainly in northern Sweden and Finland, Iceland, and parts of northern Italy.
In northern Siberia there were pronounced negative temperature anomalies.
The scientists’ warning about the 1.5°C threshold
“In November, global temperatures were 1.54 °C above pre-industrial levels, and the three-year average for 2023-2025 is on track to exceed 1.5 °C for the first time,” warned Samantha Burgess, strategic climate director for C3S.
Burgess emphasized that these records are not abstract. “They reflect the acceleration of climate change, and the only way to mitigate rising temperatures in the future is to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” she noted.
The average sea surface temperature in November within the coordinates 60°S-60°N was 20.42° C, the fourth highest value recorded for the month.
This figure was 0.29° C below the November record of 2023.
Extreme precipitation, persistent droughts and concerning temperature in 2025
November was more rainy than usual in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, the northwest of Russia, and much of the Balkans. Precipitation was especially intense in Albania and Greece.
In contrast, drier than usual conditions were observed in Iceland, southern Spain, northern Italy, central Germany, and Sweden.
Drought alerts persisted in southeastern Europe, especially in southwestern Russia, Ukraine, and Turkey.
Outside Europe, more than 1100 people lost their lives in southern and southeastern Asia due to torrential rainfall and flooding.
These disasters were caused by a combination of tropical cyclones and heavy monsoon rains.
In northern Mexico, the southeastern United States, much of western and central Asia, and southern Brazil, drier than usual conditions were recorded, highlighting the climatic extremes that characterized the month.
