January 2025 broke yet another heat temperature record despite unusual winter conditions in the United States and a cooling La Niña phase together with early predictions that this year would have lower intensity levels according to the European climate service known as Copernicus.
Scientists led by former NASA scientist James Hansen together with his colleagues present a study which supports that global warming is showing accelerating patterns in January. Research specialists demonstrate different opinions regarding these assertions.
January 2025 proved to be the hottest January recorded by Copernicus scientists through their temperature calculations which showed it reached 0.16 degrees Fahrenheit (0.09 degrees Celsius) above January 2024 levels while remaining 1.75 C (3.15 F) hotter than pre-industrial mean temperatures. Twenty-three out of twenty-four recent months have recorded temperatures exceeding 1.5 Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels marking this the 18th occurrence since the start of eighteen months. The scientific recognition of exceeding the 1.5 degree Celsius threshold occurs only when temperatures stay above this limit for twenty years straight.
The Copernicus records stretch from 1940 while U.S. and British records start from 1850. Scientific analysis through proxy data shows the present era to be the hottest temperature period in 120,000 years while also being the start of human cultural development.
Read more: La Niña’s impact on 2024’s record-breaking heat: What you need to know
Greenhouse gases drive January heat record
Heat records continue to climb because greenhouse gas accumulation occurs from burning coal oil and natural gas. European weather agency strategic lead Samantha Burgess confirms that natural temperature variations have not matched predictions, according to her statement.
The global temperature influences heavily from periodic variations in Pacific Ocean surface waters located near the equator. The central Pacific generates an El Niño when temperatures reach high levels which usually leads to an acceleration of global temperature rise. The significant El Niño event from the previous year ended in June but this did not stop the year from becoming warmer than scientists predicted making it the hottest on record.
The climatic phenomenon La Niña operates as an opposite force to El Niño by reducing global warming effects which in turn diminishes dangerous temperature patterns. The developing La Niña started in January after multiple months of growth. Research indicated in the previous month that the temperature would not achieve 2024 and 2023 levels due to La Niña’s presence.
