What is the latest information on climate change?

The latest global snapshot I can verify here comes from assessments covering 2023 and 2024. The headline is clear: the planet keeps warming, and its effects are showing up in oceans, ice, and extreme weather. I don’t have live access to reports released in 2025 or 2026, so newer figures may be available.

What recent measurements show

The World Meteorological Organization reported that 2024 was the warmest year in its observational record, at about 1.55°C above the 1850–1900 average. That is the 2024 global temperature record. A single year above 1.5°C does not mean the Paris Agreement’s long-term temperature threshold has been permanently crossed: that threshold is assessed over a sustained period, and short-term influences such as El Niño can raise annual temperatures.

The long-term warming trend is primarily driven by human greenhouse gas emissions, especially from burning coal, oil, and gas. Measurements also show greenhouse gas concentrations continuing to rise. The oceans are absorbing much of the extra heat, while sea levels rise and glaciers and ice sheets lose mass.

What this means for people

Heatwaves are becoming more intense and more likely in a warmer climate. Heavy rainfall and drought risks are changing too, though the effects differ by region. Climate change can worsen the conditions behind some extreme events; it does not mean every storm, flood, or wildfire has a single cause.

There is also progress to track: solar and wind power have expanded rapidly, and many countries have set emissions targets. But the pace of clean energy deployment and emissions cuts still matters. The most useful updates to watch are new national climate plans, actual fossil-fuel emissions, and independent assessments comparing those plans with the warming trend.