Hottest January? Cold temps in US didn't stop another global heat record.
It sure was cold in January, right? Well, not so fast.
While much of the U.S. shivered, last month was the Earth's warmest January on record, European scientists announced Thursday.
January continued a run of extraordinary heat, in which 18 of the last 19 months saw an average global temperature of more than 2.7 degrees F above pre-industrial times, the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service said in a monthly bulletin.
Worldwide, January 2025 was 3.15 degrees F warmer than it was before industrial times, Copernicus said.
'A surprising month'
"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 of the Copernicus Climate Change Service.
La Niña, a natural cooling of tropical Pacific ocean water that affects weather worldwide, officially formed in January. It usually acts to put a damper on global temperatures.
Where were temperatures warmest?
Temperatures in January were most above average over Europe, northeast and northwest Canada, Alaska, and Siberia, Copernicus said. Europe had its second-warmest January on record, after January 2020.
Temperatures were most notably below average over the United States and the easternmost regions of Russia.
Final temperature data from the United States for January will be released by NOAA next week.
Scientists at Berkeley Earth and the United Kingdom Met Office have said they expect 2025 to be the third-warmest year on record – cooler than 2024 and 2023 because of the shift towards La Niña.
What causes climate change?
Burgess said the main driver of climate change remains emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases.
"By far and away the largest contributing factor to our warming climate is the burning of fossil fuels," she said.
Contributing: Reuters