2025 was one of three hottest years on record, scientists say

Climate change worsened by human behavior made 2025 one of the three hottest years on record, scientists said.

It was also the first time that the three-year temperature average broke through the threshold set in the 2015 Paris Agreement of limiting warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) since preindustrial times. Experts say that keeping the Earth below that limit could save lives and prevent catastrophic environmental destruction around the globe.

The analysis from World Weather Attribution researchers, released Tuesday in Europe, came after a year when people around the world were slammed by the dangerous extremes brought on by a warming planet.

Temperatures remained high despite the presence of a La Nina, the occasional natural cooling of Pacific Ocean waters that influences weather worldwide. Researchers cited the continued burning of fossil fuels — oil, gas and coal — that send planet-warming greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

“If we don’t stop burning fossil fuels very, very, quickly, very soon, it will be very hard to keep that goal” of warming, Friederike Otto, co-founder of World Weather Attribution and an Imperial College London climate scientist, told The Associated Press. “The science is increasingly clear.”

Extreme weather events kill thousands of people and cost billions of dollars in damage annually.

WWA scientists identified 157 extreme weather events as most severe in 2025, meaning they met criteria such as causing more than 100 deaths, affecting more than half an area’s population or having a state of emergency declared. Of those, they closely analyzed 22.

That included dangerous heat waves, which the WWA said were the world's deadliest extreme weather events in 2025. The researchers said some of the heat waves they studied in 2025 were 10 times more likely than they would have been a decade ago due to climate change.

“The heat waves we have observed this year are quite common events in our climate today, but they would have been almost impossible to occur without human-induced climate change,” Otto said. “It makes a huge difference.”

Meanwhile, prolonged drought contributed to wildfires that scorched Greece and Turkey. Torrential rains and flooding in Mexico killed dozens of people and left many more missing. Super Typhoon Fung-wong slammed the Philippines, forcing more than a million people to evacuate. Monsoon rains battered India with floods and landslides.

The WWA said the increasingly frequent and severe extremes threatened the ability of millions of people across the globe to respond and adapt to those events with enough warning, time and resources, what the scientists call “limits of adaptation.” The report pointed to Hurricane Melissa as an example: The storm intensified so quickly that it made forecasting and planning more difficult, and pummeled Jamaica, Cuba and Haiti so severely that it left the small island nations unable to respond to and handle its extreme losses and damage.

This year's United Nations climate talks in Brazil in November ended without any explicit plan to transition away from fossil fuels, and though more money was pledged to help countries adapt to climate change, they will take more time to do it.

Officials, scientists, and analysts have conceded that Earth’s warming will overshoot 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit), though some say reversing that trend remains possible.

Yet different nations are seeing varying levels of progress.

China is rapidly deploying renewable energies including solar and wind power — but it is also continuing to invest in coal. Though increasingly frequent extreme weather has spurred calls for climate action across Europe, some nations say that limits economic growth. Meanwhile, in the U.S., the Trump administration has steered the nation away from clean-energy policy in favor of measures that support coal, oil and gas.

“The geopolitical weather is very cloudy this year with a lot of policymakers very clearly making policies for the interest of the fossil fuel industry rather than for the populations of their countries," Otto said. “And we have a huge amount of mis- and disinformation that people have to deal with.”

Andrew Kruczkiewicz, a senior researcher at the Columbia University Climate School who wasn't involved in the WWA work, said places are seeing disasters they aren't used to, extreme events are intensifying faster and they are becoming more complex. That requires earlier warnings and new approaches to response and recovery, he said.

“On a global scale, progress is being made," he added, "but we must do more.”

Alexa St. John is an Associated Press climate reporter. Follow her on X: @alexa_stjohn. Reach her at ast.john@ap.org.

Read more of AP’s climate coverage.

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

FILE - Debris surrounds damaged homes along the Black River, Jamaica, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025, in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)

FILE - Tourists use umbrellas to shelter against the sun outside Hagia Sophia mosque during a hot summer day in Istanbul Aug. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, File)

FILE - Local residents and volunteers work together to battle an encroaching wildfire in Larouco, northwestern Spain, Aug. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Lalo R. Villar, File)

FILE - People traverse a flooded street in Poza Rica, Veracruz state, Mexico, Oct. 15, 2025, after torrential rain. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez, File)

FILE - Grace Chyuwei pours water on Joe Chyuwei to help with the heat Aug. 3, 2025, in Death Valley National Park, Calif. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — First-year head coach Kellen Moore and rookie quarterback Tyler Shough have the Saints on their longest winning streak since current Hall of Fame candidate Drew Brees was still playing under Sean Payton's direction back in 2020.

Four straight victories have given the Saints hope that Moore has them trending in the right direction and that they won't need to use a first-round draft choice on a QB next spring. Moore also has been gratified by the resolve his team showed after losing 10 of its first 12 games.

“We’ve got really high-character people; they care about their teammates," Moore said, adding that "there was no finger pointing" while the losses were piling up.

Shough's last two games have been his best statistically; he eclipsed 300 yards passing in both.

In Sunday's 34-26 victory at Tennessee, Shough's 22 completions on 27 attempts for 333 yards and two touchdowns without an interception gave him a quarterback rating of 142.7 — the highest ever by a Saints rookie QB.

Shough is now 5-3 as a starter, having taken over after the Saints began 1-7. With New Orleans (6-10) trailing NFC South-leading Carolina (8-8) by just two games with one week left in the regular season, one can only wonder if New Orleans would still be in the division race had Shough been named the starter earlier.

Moore contends that Shough's success has stemmed from having to prove himself on the scout team in practice — against New Orleans' first-team defense — during the first two months of the season.

As Moore explained it, being on the scout team allowed Shough to work on his composure in collapsing pockets and his scrambling ability, and to learn the types of throws he could make against NFL defenders, who close on the ball more quickly than those the former Louisville QB faced in college a year ago.

“You're going to have to play in stressful situations,” Moore said. “There's no better spot to test yourself than being a scout-team quarterback. He took advantage of each and every opportunity to grow in that fashion.”

In any event, the Saints haven't exactly become world beaters; they've merely proved they can beat mediocre and losing teams. None of New Orleans' six victories this season have come against a team that currently has a winning record. Half of their wins, including the past two, have come against teams that currently are 3-13.

The Saints defense under first-year coordinator Brandon Staley appears to have made effective halftime adjustments during the past three games. In each of them, they yielded fewer points in the second half than in the first. The Titans scored just six in Sunday's second half. The Saints shut out the Jets in the second half of their Week 16 game and allowed Carolina just seven second-half points in a 20-17 Week 15 win.

Even in recent victories, the Saints have started slow and sometimes looked sloppy on both sides of the ball in the first half. New Orleans has trailed at halftime in five of its past six games, and in 13 of 16 games this season. The Saints won all three games in which they led at halftime.

Second-year running back Audric Estime, pressed into service because of injuries to Alvin Kamara and Devin Neal, rushed for a career-high 94 yards at Tennessee, highlighted by his tackle-breaking, 32-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, tight end Juwan Johnson had second-half catches of 30, 39 and 23 yards to help lead the Saints' comeback from a 10-point halftime deficit and now has a career-high 828 yards receiving this season.

Cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry was unable to perform what looked like a routine tackle along the sideline on Titans tight end Chig Okonkwo, who turned a short pass in the left flat into a 43-yard touchdown. Veteran safety Justin Reid also had a lowlight when he committed pass interference on a deep pass on third-and-14. The penalty set up a Titans touchdown with just 13 seconds left in the half.

Saints tight end Jack Stoll hurt a knee when he was rolled up from behind on the first offensive play. He was ruled out. Defensive tackle Bryan Bresee (knee), running back Alvin Kamara (knee and ankle) and right guard Cesar Ruiz (ankle) did not play on Sunday, leaving their availability for the season finale in doubt.

2 — The number of first-year coaches in Saints history to have a four-game winning streak after Moore joined Jim Haslett, whose 2000 playoff team won six straight.

The Saints wrap up their season by visiting the Atlanta Falcons, who defeated the Saints in New Orleans on Nov. 23.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

New Orleans Saints head coach Kellen Moore reacts on the sideline in the second half of an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis)

New Orleans Saints tight end Juwan Johnson (83) pulls in a first down reception against Tennessee Titans linebacker Cedric Gray (33) in the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis)

New Orleans Saints running back Audric Estime (30) carries for a touchdown against the Tennessee Titans in the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis)

New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough (6) passes against the Tennessee Titans in the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis)