Last month was the warmest January ever recorded globally, despite the presence of the La Niña phenomenon. This information comes from the monthly bulletin published by the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), which is part of the European Union’s space program. The surface air temperature in January was 13.23 oC, which is 0.79 oC higher than the average for January between 1991 and 2020, and 1.75 oC higher than pre-industrial levels.
The high temperatures are a continuing trend, with last month being the eighth month out of the last 19 where temperatures exceeded pre-industrial levels by more than 1.5 oC. Over the past 12 months, the average temperature was 0.73 oC higher than the average between 1991 and 2020, and 1.61 oC higher than pre-industrial levels. According to Samantha Burgess of the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, “January 2025 is another surprising month that continues with the record temperatures observed in the last two years, despite the development of the La Niña phenomenon in the tropical Pacific and its temporary cooling effect on global temperature.”
In terms of regional temperatures, the average air temperature over land in January was 1.80 oC, making it the second-warmest January on record after 2020. This temperature was 2.51 oC higher than the average for 1991-2020. The temperature anomaly was more pronounced in southern and eastern Europe, while temperatures were below average in the United Kingdom, Ireland, northern France, and northern Scandinavia. Temperatures were also higher than usual in northwest and northeast Canada, Alaska, Siberia, southern South America, Africa, Australia, and Antarctica.
On the other hand, temperatures were lower than usual in the United States, the eastern part of Russia, the Arabian Peninsula, and Southeast Asia. The average water temperature on the surface in January between the 60oS-60oN latitudes was 20.78 oC, the second-highest value recorded for the month of January after January 2024. There were also variations in precipitation, with more rainfall than usual in Western Europe, Canada, Central and Eastern Russia, Eastern Australia, and Southeast Africa, resulting in floods in some areas.
In contrast, there was less rainfall than usual in the British Isles, eastern Spain, the north of the Black Sea, the southeastern United States, and northern Mexico, as well as in North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and East China, among other areas. These changes in temperature and precipitation patterns are part of the ongoing monitoring of global climate trends by the Copernicus Climate Change Service.