January 2025 was officially the hottest January ever recorded globally, according to new data released this week by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), one of the federal agencies tasked with keeping track of the world's weather and climate.
Both 2023 and 2024 shattered previous temperature records, hovering near or above 1.5 Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above the Earth's temperature in the late 1800s, a time before humans began burning vast amounts of fossil fuels that have inexorably heated up the planet.
But the forecast was projected to ease slightly, primarily because a strong El Niño — a part of a natural climate cycle that had contributed to the intense heat — had faded by late last year. During El Niño's, the planet is often warmer than usual. But during the other half of the cycle, called a La Niña, it usually cools down. Earth flipped into the La Niña phase last year.
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