Arctic sea ice coverage near record low
January 16, 2025: The sun rises over mist that formed over the countryside in Somerset, England. January 2025 was the world's warmest January in NOAA’s 176-year global climate record. (Image credit: Getty Images)
Earth started 2025 with its warmest January on record, according to data from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).
Last month was also notable for the low amount of sea ice covering both ends of the world.
Below are more highlights from NOAA’s January global climate report:
Climate by the numbers
January 2025
The average global land and ocean surface temperature was 2.39 degrees F (1.33 degrees C) above the 20th-century average, ranking as the warmest January in the 176-year global climate record. This was 0.05 of a degree F (0.03 of a degree C) above the previous record-warm January of 2024.
The new January global record is particularly notable for having occurred during a La Nina episode, the cold phase of El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Global temperatures tend to be cooler during periods of ENSO-neutral conditions and even cooler during La Nina.
According to NCEI’s Global Annual Temperature Outlook, there is a 7% chance that 2025 will rank as the warmest year on record.
Other notable climate events
- Arctic sea ice coverage was second lowest on record: Arctic sea ice extent (coverage) was below average (by 330,000 square miles), ranking second lowest on record. Antarctic extent was slightly below average (by 130,000 square miles). Globally, sea ice extent was the seventh smallest in the 47-year record at 6.89 million square miles, which was 1.17 million square miles below the 1991–2020 average.
- Global tropical cyclones were below average: Five named storms occurred across the globe in January, which was below the average of seven named storms. Three named storms formed in the southwestern Indian Ocean, the most impactful being Intense Tropical Cyclone Dikeledi, which made landfall on Madagascar and Mozambique. The storm brought high winds and heavy rains to the region.
More > Access NOAA’s latest climate report and download the images.
