Although signs of La Nina were visible in the central Pacific, ocean temperatures in the eastern Pacific remained above normal, suggesting that the shift toward La Nina may be slowing or stalling.
| Photo Credit: AFP

The planet experienced its warmest January on record last month despite the development of La Nina, a climate pattern that usually brings cooler global temperatures, the European climate agency said on Thursday (February 6, 2025).

This comes on the heels of the Earth experiencing its hottest year on record in 2024, also the first to see global average temperatures rise 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

According to the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), January 2025 recorded an average temperature of 13.23 degrees Celsius, 0.09 degrees warmer than the previous hottest January (2024) and 0.79 degrees above the 1991-2020 average.

Scientists also found that the Earth’s temperature in January was 1.75 degrees Celsius higher than pre-industrial levels. Global temperatures have stayed above the 1.5-degree mark for 18 of the last 19 months.

Samantha Burgess, Deputy Director of C3S, said, “January 2025 is another surprising month, continuing the record temperatures observed throughout the last two years, despite the development of La Nina conditions in the tropical Pacific and their temporary cooling effect on global temperatures.”

La Nina is a climate pattern where the surface waters in the central Pacific Ocean become cooler than usual, affecting weather worldwide.

It typically brings stronger monsoons and heavier rainfall to India while causing droughts in parts of Africa and South America. It also tends to cool global temperatures slightly, unlike its opposite, El Nino, which warms them.

Copernicus scientists also reported that the last 12-month period (February 2024 – January 2025) was 1.61 degrees Celsius warmer than pre-industrial times.

Meanwhile, sea surface temperatures (SSTs) remained unusually high in many parts of the world. The average SST for January (between 60° South and 60° North) was 20.78 degrees Celsius, making it the second warmest January on record.

Although signs of La Nina were visible in the central Pacific, ocean temperatures in the eastern Pacific remained above normal, suggesting that the shift toward La Nina may be slowing or stalling.

In the Arctic, sea ice reached its lowest extent for January, falling 6% below average, almost matching the record low set in January 2018, Copernicus said.

The World Meteorological Organisation in January declared 2024 the warmest year on record, with the global mean temperature 1.55 degrees Celsius above the 1850-1900 baseline, the period before human activities, such as burning fossil fuels, began significantly impacting the climate.

However, a permanent breach of the 1.5-degree Celsius limit specified in the Paris Agreement refers to long-term warming over a 20 or 30-year period.