A new report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) confirms that climate change-driven extreme weather has already caused thousands of deaths, affected millions, and resulted in billions in economic losses. The State of the Global Climate 2025 report reveals that the planet has entered an unprecedented state of flux, with record-high greenhouse gas concentrations pushing key climate indicators to alarming levels.
The report states that the period from 2015 to 2025 constitutes the hottest eleven-year span on record. The year 2025 ranked as the second or third warmest, with global temperatures averaging 1.43°C above the pre-industrial 1850-1900 baseline.
“For the first time, we are reporting on the Earth’s energy imbalance at an all-time high,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo. This imbalance, the difference between incoming solar energy and outgoing heat, is the greatest in 65 years of record-keeping. The ocean has absorbed approximately 91% of this excess heat, with the last two decades seeing an accumulation equivalent to eighteen times the world’s annual human energy consumption. Roughly 3% of this trapped energy is accelerating ice melt, with eight of the ten years of greatest glacier loss since 1950 occurring since 2016. Arctic and Antarctic sea ice remain at or near historic lows.
The findings underscore a daily reality of more frequent and intense extreme events, including heatwaves, wildfires, droughts, and tropical cyclones, which expose the vulnerability of interconnected global societies.
The report’s release coincides with World Meteorological Day 2026, themed “Observing Today, Protecting Tomorrow.” It serves as a timely, consolidated assessment complementing the work of the IPCC, produced in collaboration with national meteorological services and climate research institutions.
The climate crisis is compounding existing global challenges. A separate study cited in the report notes that recent major conflicts have generated an estimated 33 billion tons of CO₂, highlighting how geopolitical instability and environmental stress are intertwined.
In West Africa, these global trends manifest in local disruption. In Liberia, historically distinct dry and rainy seasons have become erratic. Unseasonable and persistent rainfall in early January 2026 disrupted farming cycles, a shift confirmed by the national Environmental Protection Agency. The country lacks functional early warning systems and consistent public weather broadcasts, leaving communities—particularly in coastal and agricultural areas—vulnerable to flooding and crop failure.
Despite contributing minimally to global emissions, Liberia’s updated climate plan (Nationally Determined Contribution) reaffirms a target to reduce its emissions by 64% by 2035. Other African nations, including South Africa, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe, have also faced devastating rainfall and flooding.
The WMO’s authoritative data provides a critical baseline for global climate negotiations and national adaptation planning. As UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated, “Every key climate indicator is flashing red.” The report emphasizes that the environmental damage set in motion by today’s emissions will persist for generations, making immediate and sustained mitigation and adaptation action essential.
