This means that January 2025 stands out as anomalous even by the standards of the last two years,” Hausfather explains. Writing for Discover Magazine, Tom Yulsman points out that scientists expected this January to be cooler than preceding Januaries because of the ocean current cycles like El Niño and La Niña.

Earth’s prolonged streak of abnormal heat continued into 2025 despite the arrival of La Niña ocean conditions, which typically bring cooler temperatures.

Meteorologists expected global temperatures to start falling after record highs in 2023 and 2024 – instead January 2025 hit a new high