Last month registered as the world’s second-warmest May in recorded history, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, continuing a relentless pattern of near-record heat.
This finding follows April 2025, which also ranked as the second-warmest April globally, preceded by March’s unprecedented peak as the hottest March ever documented.
May 2025 measured 1.4 degrees Celsius above preindustrial averages, ending a historic 12-month streak where temperatures consistently exceeded 1.5°C above preindustrial baselines.
Carlo Buontempo, Director of Copernicus Climate Change Service, described this shift as offering “a brief respite for the planet” but cautioned that “we do expect the 1.5°C threshold to be exceeded again in the near future due to the continued warming of the climate system.”
Simultaneously, northwestern Europe endured an “exceptionally dry spring,” with Copernicus noting regions experienced “the lowest precipitation and soil moisture levels since at least 1979.” This drought triggered Europe’s “lowest spring river flow since records began in 1992,” threatening agriculture and water supplies.
The escalating temperatures stem predominantly from “the continuous burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas.” Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, nations pledged to cap global warming “below 2°C and ideally under 1.5°C” compared to preindustrial levels. The European Union has further committed to slashing greenhouse gas emissions through its Green Deal framework, targeting climate neutrality by 2050.
