January 2025 has been recorded as the hottest on record, even as the planet shifts into the cooling La Niña weather pattern. Scientists say they hope that this year will be cooler than the previous two, but warn that continued burning of fossil fuels may offset any drops in temperature from La Niña.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:002025 has barely begun, but last month already set a record for being the hottest January
00:05ever. And climate researchers say there's more to worry about.
00:11It's also the 18th month in the last 19-month period where global air surface temperatures
00:18have been more than 1.5 degrees above that pre-industrial average.
00:23The streak of extreme temperatures continues even with a shift into the cooling La Nina
00:28weather pattern. Scientists hope that as the pattern develops, 2025 will be cooler
00:33than the previous two years. But they say that with the continued burning of fossil
00:37fuels, La Nina may not be enough to turn down the heat on a rapidly warming planet.