Antarctica Records Hottest Year as Global Temperatures Breach 1.5°C Threshold Over Three-Year Period

The Antarctic continent has reached a sobering milestone, documenting its highest average annual temperature since instrumental records began during the course of 2025. This localized record coincides with a significant shift in the global climate landscape, as the three-year window spanning from 2023 to 2025 marked the first time that average temperatures consistently exceeded the critical 1.5°C warming threshold compared to the pre-industrial baseline of 1850–1900.

Official figures released on January 14, 2026, by the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) confirmed that the global mean surface temperature throughout 2025 stood at 1.47°C above pre-industrial levels. This comprehensive data set was coordinated by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), which operates C3S, in close collaboration with major scientific bodies including NASA, NOAA, and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The sustained three-year breach of the 1.5°C limit has sparked intense concern among international climate agencies, signaling a rapid acceleration in the pace of planetary warming.

While 2025 saw slightly less extreme temperature spikes over the tropical regions of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans than the preceding year, these cooling effects were largely negated by extraordinary heat in the Earth's polar zones. The Arctic experienced its second-warmest year on record, but it was Antarctica that truly stood out by setting an absolute record for its average annual temperature. Furthermore, the environmental crisis was underscored in February 2025, when the extent of polar sea ice plummeted to its lowest level since satellite monitoring commenced in the 1970s.

According to the C3S analysis, 2025 now ranks as the third-warmest year in history, trailing only the record-breaking 2024 and the slightly warmer 2023. The margin between 2023 and 2025 was remarkably slim, measured at just 0.01°C. This data highlights a broader, more alarming trend: the last eleven consecutive years now represent the eleven hottest years ever recorded. Academician Boris Porfiryev from the Institute of Economic Forecasting of the Russian Academy of Sciences (INP RAS) observed that by December 2025, the global average temperature had already surpassed the pre-industrial benchmark by approximately 1.5°C.

Although a formal violation of the Paris Agreement is typically measured against a 20-year rolling average, the 2023–2025 period serves as a stark warning of the current climate trajectory. Current assessments from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) suggest that existing government commitments are insufficient, potentially leading to a global temperature rise of 2.3°C to 2.5°C by the year 2100. The intensification of El Niño events within this warming climate could have devastating economic consequences; research indicates that the Asia-Pacific region alone could face losses of up to $35 trillion by the end of the century, largely driven by a decline in life expectancy and productivity.