Earth’s climate now more imbalanced than ever recorded: WMO

The World Meteorological Organization reported that Earth’s climate imbalance reached a record high in 2025, driven by rising greenhouse gases disrupting the balance between incoming and outgoing energy. Scientists have observed this imbalance increasing since 1960, with a sharp acceleration over the past two decades. Oceans absorb over 90% of the excess heat, buffering the impact, while the rest warms land, melts ice, and heats the atmosphere. The report also noted that ocean heat content hit a new high, with warming rates more than doubling since 2005.

WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said scientific advances have improved understanding of Earth’s energy imbalance and warned that human activities are increasingly disrupting the planet’s natural equilibrium with long-term consequences. The report highlighted that greenhouse gas levels—carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide—continued to rise in 2025, with CO₂ reaching a two-million-year high in 2024 and recording its largest annual increase since 1957 due to continued fossil fuelfossil fuel use and weakening carbon sinks.

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Climate crisis intensifies with rising temperatures and extreme impacts

The report ranked 2025 among the top three warmest years on record, with global temperatures about 1.43°C above pre-industrial levels, slightly below the 2024 record due to cooling La Niña conditions. It recorded a new high in ocean heat content, marking nine consecutive years of rising levels, while global sea levels stayed near historic peaks. Scientists observed severe glacier loss and near-record lows in Arctic and Antarctic sea ice, while extreme weather events increasingly threatened food security and drove displacement worldwide.

The report warned that extreme weather is disrupting agriculture and worsening food insecurity, increasing risks of instability, migration, and the spread of pests and diseases. It highlighted growing health threats, with dengue spreading rapidly and nearly half the global population at risk, while about 1.2 billion workers face heat stress each year. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the situation a “climate emergency,” stressing that fossil fuel use is causing the planet to trap heat faster than it can release it, and urged a rapid transition to renewable energy. Forecasts also indicate a higher likelihood of El Niño conditions in 2026, which could weaken monsoons and intensify heat in regions like India.

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