It\u2019s no secret our planet is heating up.<\/p>\n
And here\u2019s the evidence: we\u2019ve just experienced the 11 hottest years on record, with 2025 being the second or third warmest in global history.<\/p>\n
The annual State of the Climate report<\/a>, published today by the World Meteorological Organization, suggests we\u2019re still too reliant on fossil fuels. And that\u2019s pushing us further from our goal to decarbonise.<\/p>\n So what is happening to our climate? And how should we respond?<\/p>\n The climate picture<\/p>\n Unfortunately, the most recent climate data makes for grim reading.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s look back at 2025, through the lens of four climate change indicators. <\/p>\n Carbon dioxide<\/p>\n We now have a record amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, about 50% higher than pre-industrial levels. And we\u2019re still emitting large amounts of carbon dioxide through our use of fossil fuels. In 2025, global emissions reached record high levels<\/a>. The carbon dioxide we emit can stay in the atmosphere for a long time. So each year we keep emitting large amounts of carbon dioxide, the more concentrated it will be in our atmosphere.<\/p>\n Temperature<\/p>\n In 2025, the world experienced its second or third warmest year on record, depending on which dataset<\/a> you use. The average temperature was about 1.43\u00b0C above the pre-industrial average.<\/p>\n This is particularly unusual given we observed slight La Ni\u00f1a conditions in the Pacific region. La Ni\u00f1a is a type of climate pattern<\/a> characterised by temperature changes in the Pacific Ocean. It typically creates milder, wetter conditions in Australia and has a cooling effect<\/a> on the global average temperature. But even with La Ni\u00f1a conditions, the planet stayed exceptionally hot.<\/p>\n And each of the last 11 years were hotter than any of the previous years in the global temperature series. This is true across all the different datasets used in the report. However, this does not mean a new record was set each year.<\/p>\n Oceans and ice<\/p>\n In 2025, the heat held within the world\u2019s oceans reached a record high. And as our oceans continue to warm, sea levels will also rise. Hotter oceans also speed up the process of acidification<\/a>, where oceans absorb an increased amount of carbon dioxide with potentially devastating consequences for some marine animals.<\/p>\n The amount of Arctic and Antarctic ice is also well below average. This report shows sea ice extent<\/a>, a measure of how much ocean is covered by at least some sea ice, is at or close to record low levels in the Arctic. Meanwhile, the amount of ice stored in glaciers<\/a> has also significantly decreased.<\/p>\n Extreme weather<\/p>\n Research shows many of the most devastating extreme weather events<\/a> of 2025 were exacerbated by human-driven climate change. The heatwaves<\/a> in Central Asia, wildfires<\/a> in East Asia and Hurricane Melissa<\/a> in the Carribean are just three examples. Through attribution analysis<\/a>, which is how scientists determine the causes of an extreme weather or climate event, this report highlights how our greenhouse gas emissions are making severe weather events more common and intense.<\/p>\n How does Australia stack up?<\/p>\n Compared to most other countries, Australia has a disproportionate impact on the global climate. <\/p>\n This is largely because our per capita carbon dioxide emissions are about three times the global average. That means on average, each of us emits more carbon dioxide<\/a> than people in all European countries and the US.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Emissions matter because they exacerbate the greenhouse effect<\/a>. That is the process by which greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, trap heat near Earth\u2019s surface. So by emitting more greenhouse gases, we contribute to global warming. And research suggests Earth is warming twice as fast<\/a> today, compared to previous decades.<\/p>\n However, Australia is also experiencing first-hand the adverse effects of human-induced climate change.<\/p>\n In 2025, we lived through our fourth-warmest<\/a> year on record. The annual surface temperatures<\/a> of the seas around Australia reached historic highs, beating the record temperatures set in 2024. And last March was the hottest<\/a> March we\u2019ve seen across the continent.<\/p>\n Here in Australia, we are also battling longer and hotter heatwaves and bushfire seasons<\/a>. And scientists warn these extreme weather events will only become more common<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n The Bureau of Meteorology\u2019s annual summary highlights how Australia\u2019s climate is changing.<\/p>\n So what can we do?<\/p>\n The 2025 State of the Climate Report shows how much, and how quickly, we are changing our climate. And it is worryingly similar to previous reports, highlighting the need for urgent action. <\/p>\n The priority should be decreasing our emissions. This would slow down global warming, which will only continue if we keep the status quo. Some countries are already decarbonising rapidly<\/a>, in part through transitioning to renewable electricity supplies. Others, including Australia, need to move much faster to reduce emissions.<\/p>\n