Last month was officially the warmest January on record, according to newly released data. This revelation has baffled scientists, who had anticipated that shifts in Pacific Ocean currents might temper the relentless rise in global temperatures.
Figures from the European Copernicus Climate Service indicate that January’s global average temperatures were 1.75°C higher than pre-industrial levels, around 150 years ago.
This is 0.1°C warmer than the previous record set in January 2023. The findings come in the wake of a year where global temperatures consistently exceeded the 1.5°C threshold—a target set in climate negotiations to mitigate catastrophic environmental impacts.
Dr. Friederike Otto, a climate scientist at Imperial College London, stressed the consequences of unchecked fossil fuel consumption. “This January is the hottest on record because countries are still burning huge amounts of oil, gas, and coal,” she stated. “The Los Angeles wildfires were a stark reminder that we have already reached an incredibly dangerous level of warming. We’ll see many more unprecedented extreme weather events in 2025.”
‘Frankly Terrifying’
The expectation had been that January 2024 would be slightly cooler due to the onset of La Niña, a natural weather phenomenon that generally has a cooling effect. However, this shift has proven insufficient to counteract the broader warming trend.
Bill McGuire, Emeritus Professor of Geophysical & Climate Hazards at UCL, described the situation as “astonishing and, frankly, terrifying.”
“The fact that the latest robust Copernicus data reveals the January just gone was the hottest on record—despite an emerging La Niña—is both astonishing and terrifying. Having crashed through the 1.5°C limit in 2024, the climate is showing no signs of wanting to dip under it again. This marks the 18th of the last 19 months in which global temperatures have exceeded this critical threshold.”
McGuire referenced extreme weather events such as the Valencia floods and the “apocalyptic” Los Angeles wildfires as clear evidence that climate breakdown is already upon us.
The UK Feels the Heat
The UK is not immune to the repercussions of a rapidly warming planet. The intensification of rainfall has exacerbated the risk of surface flooding, with urban drainage systems struggling to cope. In December, the Environment Agency reported that 4.6 million properties in England are at risk of flooding, marking a 43% increase from previous estimates.
Despite the scale of the crisis, adaptation measures remain underfunded. The government has pledged £2.65 billion over the next two years to reinforce existing flood defences and safeguard an additional 52,000 homes and businesses. Yet, this remains a mere fraction of the number of properties deemed vulnerable to flooding.
Apathy in the Face of Crisis
For decades, scientists and environmentalists have sounded the alarm on climate change, warning of the dire consequences of inaction. Yet, despite mounting evidence and increasingly catastrophic events, public engagement remains tepid. The climate crisis has become background noise—a monotonous refrain that many have learnt to ignore.
With each passing year, the warnings grow graver, the headlines more dramatic, and the reality more inescapable. But rather than galvanising action, there is a growing sense of resignation. The collective response appears to be one of apathy, as if humanity is passively watching its own demise unfold.
If these records continue to be shattered, and if extreme weather events become the norm rather than the exception, will the world finally take notice? Or has the public, fatigued by decades of climate discourse, simply accepted its fate?
