WMO: 2025 Climate Out of Balance; WWF Warns Action Isn't Fast Enough.

The World Meteorological Organization's State of the Global Climate 2025 report reveals that Earth's climate system is more out of balance than at any time in observed history.

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unprecedented levels of energy disruption caused by human activities have fundamentally altered the planet's natural equilibrium.

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The WMO introduced Earth's energy imbalance as a key climate indicator for the first time, measuring the rate at which energy enters and leaves the Earth system.

Under stable conditions, incoming solar energy equals outgoing energy, but increasing concentrations of heat-trapping greenhouse gases have fundamentally disrupted this equilibrium.

The energy imbalance has increased since observational records began in 1960, particularly accelerating over the past 20 years.

This imbalance reached a new high in 2025, distributing excess energy unevenly across Earth's systems.

About 1% of excess energy warms the atmosphere near Earth's surface, while 5% is stored in continental land masses.

Over 91% of excess energy is absorbed by oceans acting as a major temperature buffer against higher land temperatures.

The remaining 3% of excess energy warms and melts ice, contributing to polar and glacial changes.

Greenhouse gas concentrations reached alarming new highs in 2024-2025, indicating unprecedented levels of atmospheric pollution.

Carbon dioxide levels reached their highest point in 2 million years, while methane and nitrous oxide concentrations exceeded levels seen in at least 800,000 years.

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The annual increase in CO2 concentration in 2024 was the largest since modern measurements began in 1957, showing accelerating atmospheric change.

These increases were driven by continued fossil fuel emissions and reduced effectiveness of land and ocean carbon sinks.

Temperature records show that the past eleven years, 2015-2025, were the eleven warmest years on record.

2025 ranked as the second or third warmest year in the 176-year observational record despite La Niña cooling conditions.

The annually averaged global near-surface temperature was about 1.43°C above the 1850-1900 pre-industrial average in 2025.

2024 remains the warmest year on record at about 1.55°C above pre-industrial levels, demonstrating continued warming trend.

Ocean heat content reached unprecedented levels in 2025, continuing a nine-year streak of record-breaking warming.

“Earth’s climate more out of balance than at any time in observed history: WMO The WMO said that 2025 was the second or third warmest year in the 176-year observational record, reflecting the shift to La Niña conditions The Earth’s climate is more out of balance than at any time in observed history, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO)’s State of the Global Climate 2025 report released on Monday warned”

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The ocean heat content to a depth of 2,000 metres exceeded the previous high set in 2024, marking consecutive record years.

The rate of ocean warming over the past two decades, 2005-2025, is more than twice that observed during 1960-2005.

Current ocean warming measures about 11.0-12.2 Zetajoules per year - approximately 18 times annual human energy consumption.

Despite La Niña cooling conditions, around 90% of the ocean surface area experienced marine heatwaves in 2025.

Global mean sea level remained at record-high levels comparable to 2024, showing continued upward trend.

Sea levels were about 11 cm higher than at the start of the satellite altimetry record in 1993.

The long-term rate of sea-level rise since 2012 remains higher than in the earlier satellite record period.

The WMO report documents widespread extreme weather events and cascading impacts on human populations and ecosystems.

A supplement provides a comprehensive snapshot of extreme events based on inputs from multiple international organizations.

World Meteorological Organization

Contributing organizations include WMO Members, IOM, IDMC, UNHCR, WFP and FAO, covering meteorological and humanitarian aspects.

Climate-driven food insecurity has emerged as a significant global risk with far-reaching consequences.

These impacts extend to social stability, migration patterns and biosecurity through spread of plant pests and animal diseases.

Extreme weather continues to drive new, onward and protracted displacement of people worldwide.

Particularly severe consequences are observed in fragile and conflict-affected regions.

The compounding impacts of multiple disasters severely limit community resilience and adaptation capabilities.

Polar ice systems continue to show alarming signs of deterioration, with both Arctic and Antarctic sea ice reaching record or near-record low extents in 2025.

“Earth’s climate swings increasingly out of balance Geneva, Switzerland (WMO) – The Earth’s climate is more out of balance than at any time in observed history, as greenhouse gas concentrations drive continued warming of the atmosphere and ocean and melting of ice, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)”

World Meteorological Organization

The annual average Arctic sea-ice extent for 2025 was the lowest or second lowest on record in the satellite era (1979).

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The maximum daily extent of Arctic sea-ice after winter freeze was the lowest annual maximum in the observed record at about 14.19 million km².

Antarctic sea ice showed significant decline, with the average extent for 2025 being the third lowest after 2023 and 2024.

The annual minimum daily extent of Antarctic sea-ice tied for the second lowest in the observed record.

The past four years have seen the four lowest Antarctic sea ice minima on record, indicating accelerating change.

On land, glacier mass loss continued at accelerated rates, with the 2024/2025 hydrological year showing among the five worst losses on record.

Eight of the 10 years with the largest glacier ice loss have occurred since 2016, with exceptional loss in Iceland and North America in 2025.