The continued burning of fossil fuels is driving global warming by releasing greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions that trap heat in the atmosphere. The year 2023 was the warmest on record at the time, only to be exceeded the very next year. In 2024, the global average temperature exceeded 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels for the first time in a calendar year. Although 2025 did not surpass that record, it ranked as the third-warmest year, just behind 2023 and 2024.

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The Paris Agreement, adopted in 2015, committed countries to pursue urgent efforts to limit global warming to 1.5°C. Since then, the relentless march in global temperatures has not reversed. The past 11 years are also the 11 warmest on record. Together, 2023 through 2025 mark the first three-year period to average above 1.5°C. While this does not mean that the long-term temperature goal has been exceeded, it is a warning that can no longer be ignored: the world is rapidly approaching that limit, making it difficult for people and the environment to survive.