The world is being pushed beyond its limits according to a powerful new study by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

The study added the Earth’s climate is more out of balance than at any time in observed history, as greenhouse gas concentrations drive continued warming of the atmosphere and ocean and melting of ice. These rapid and large-scale changes have occurred within a few decades but will have harmful repercussions for hundreds – and potentially thousands – of years.

WMO’s State of the Global Climate report 2025 confirms that 2015-2025 are the hottest 11-years on record, and that 2025 was the second or third hottest year on record, at about 1.43 °C above the 1850-1900 average. Extreme events around the world, including intense heat, heavy rainfall and tropical cyclones, caused disruption and devastation and highlighted the vulnerability of our inter-connected economies and societies.

The ocean continues to warm and absorb carbon dioxide. It has been absorbing the equivalent of about eighteen times the annual human energy use each year for the past two decades. Annual sea ice extent in the Arctic was at or near a record low, Antarctic sea ice extent was the third lowest on record, and glacier melt continued unabated, according to the report.

“The State of the Global Climate is in a state of emergency. Planet Earth is being pushed beyond its limits. Every key climate indicator is flashing red,” said UN secretary-general António Guterres. “Humanity has just endured the eleven hottest years on record. When history repeats itself eleven times, it is no longer a coincidence. It is a call to act.”

For the first time, the report includes the Earth’s energy imbalance as one of the key climate indicators.

The Earth’s energy balance measures the rate at which energy enters and leaves the Earth system. Under a stable climate, incoming energy from the sun is about the same as the amount of outgoing energy.

However, increasing concentrations of heat-trapping greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide – to their highest level in at least 800,000 years have upset this equilibrium.

The Earth’s energy imbalance has increased since its observational record began in 1960, particularly in the past 20 years, the study added. It reached a new high in 2025.

“Scientific advances have improved our understanding of the Earth’s energy imbalance and of the reality facing our planet and our climate right now,” said WMO secretary-general Celeste Saulo. “Human activities are increasingly disrupting the natural equilibrium and we will live with these consequences for hundreds and thousands of years.”

“On a day-to-day basis, our weather has become more extreme. In 2025, heatwaves, wildfires, drought, tropical cyclones, storms and flooding caused thousands of deaths, impacted millions of people, and caused billions in economic losses,” Saulo added.

The warming of the atmosphere including near the Earth’s surface (the temperatures that humans feel) represents just 1% of the excess energy, whilst about 5% is stored in the continental land masses.

More than 91% of the excess heat is stored in the ocean, which acts as a major buffer against higher temperatures on land. Ocean heat content reached a new record high in 2025 and its rate of warming more than doubled from 1960-2005 to 2005-2025.

The WMO said the warming ocean and melting ice are driving the long-term rise in global mean sea level, which has accelerated since satellite measurements began in 1993.

Ocean warming and sea level rise will continue for centuries, according to projections by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Changes in ocean warming, and deep ocean pH are irreversible on centennial to millennial time scales.

A supplement to the report  provided a snapshot of extreme events, based on inputs from WMO Members, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), World Food Programme (WFP) and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), focusing on the meteorological aspects and the impacts related to displacement and food security.

“Extreme weather has cascading impacts on agricultural production. Climate-driven food insecurity is now seen as a risk, with cascading effects on social stability, migration, and biosecurity through the spread of plant pests and animal diseases,” it explained. “It also continues to drive new, onward, and protracted displacement of people globally, with particularly severe consequences in fragile and conflict-affected regions. The cascading and compounding impacts of multiple disasters severely limit the ability of vulnerable communities to prepare for, recover from, and adapt to shocks.”

GRAPHICS: IPCC