The world has just experienced the hottest January ever recorded, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday, citing data crunched by UN partner the Copernicus Climate Service

Last month was 1.75 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial level and 0.79°C above the 1991-2020 average, despite expectations that the La Nina weather phenomenon might bring cooler temperatures.

In 2015, the international community agreed to try to limit average global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

Surprise data

The January data was “surprising” even to climate change experts at Copernicus, the European climate change service, which noted that it was the 18th month in the last 19 where the global-average surface air temperature was more than 1.5°C above the pre-industrial level.

“January 2025 is another surprising month, continuing the record temperatures observed throughout the last two years, despite the development of La Niña conditions in the tropical Pacific and their temporary cooling effect on global temperatures,” said Samantha Burgess, Copernicus Strategic Lead for Climate.

For many in the northern hemisphere January 2025 will be remembered by “wetter-than-average conditions” over western Europe, as well as parts of Italy, Scandinavia and the Baltic countries, Copernicus said, highlighting “heavy precipitation” and flooding in some regions.

Regional variations

On the other hand, drier than average conditions were recorded in the northern UK and Ireland, eastern Spain and north of the Black Sea.

Beyond Europe, it was wetter than average in Alaska, Canada, central and eastern Russia, eastern Australia, southeastern Africa, and southern Brazil, with regions experiencing floods and associated damage.

But drier-than-average conditions took hold in southwestern United States and northern Mexico, northern Africa, the Middle East, across Central Asia and in eastern China as well as in much of southern Africa, southern South America and Australia.

Global temperature rise is primarily attributed to humans burning fossil fuels which have led to record concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Other factors are also key, including deforestation.