Scientists warn that 1.5°C warming threshold is slipping out of reach as extremes intensify across continents.
In a stark reminder of the planet’s accelerating climate crisis, global temperatures in March 2025 soared to unprecedented levels, with average heat readings surpassing the 1.5°C threshold set by the Paris Agreement. Europe recorded its hottest March on record, while globally, temperatures were 1.6°C above pre-industrial levels, according to the latest data from the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).
The findings intensify concerns that the world is veering off course from its international climate targets, and that the narrow window to curb the worst effects of global warming may be closing.
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A World on the Brink of Overheating
The C3S monthly report reveals that the average temperature in Europe rose to over 6°C (42.8°F), edging 0.26°C higher than the previous record set in March 2014. But it’s the global average — 1.6°C above pre-industrial levels — that has sounded alarms among climate scientists.
“This is not just another warm month — it is a signal,” said Friederike Otto of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment at Imperial College London. “That we’re already averaging 1.6°C above pre-industrial levels is indeed remarkable. The world is firmly in the grip of human-caused climate change.”
Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, nearly 200 nations pledged to limit global warming to “well below” 2°C, ideally to 1.5°C, in order to avert the most catastrophic climate impacts. But the latest data suggests that target is quickly slipping beyond reach.
A Tale of Extremes Across the Globe
Europe’s March heat wasn’t the only anomaly. Samantha Burgess, strategic lead at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (which operates C3S), highlighted that the continent faced “extremes in both heavy rain and drought.”
“Many areas experienced their driest March on record and others their wettest in at least the last 47 years,” Burgess reported.
Beyond Europe, a heatwave gripped Central Asia while countries like Argentina saw extreme rainfall — all patterns scientists attribute to the amplifying effects of climate change.
The Arctic, too, broke records. Sea ice in March reached its lowest extent for that month in the 47-year satellite data history. It marked the fourth consecutive month of record-low ice cover, a trend with profound implications for global sea levels and weather systems.
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