Global temperatures defy expectations by hitting record high, again, in January

Corn plants affected by a drought on a farm on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina, 29 January 2025. © Agustin Marcarian/Reuters

Last month was the hottest January on record, according to Europe's climate monitor, despite predictions that the La Nina weather pattern could break last year’s streak of record-breaking temperatures.

Heat has lingered since the warming El Nino event peaked in January 2024, and January 2025 hit a record at 1.75 degrees Celsius hotter than pre-industrial times, the Copernicus Climate Change Service said Thursday.