Global warming is accelerating due to human activities
The Earth is warming at an unprecedented rate. Between 2016 and 2025, the global average temperature increased by 1.26 degrees compared to the 1850-1900 period. Of this rise, 1.24 degrees is directly attributable to human activities. In 2025, human influence on the climate even pushed warming to 1.37 degrees above pre-industrial levels. This rate, reaching 0.27 degrees per decade, is the highest ever recorded in instrumental records.
One of the most revealing signs of this acceleration is the Earth’s energy imbalance. This phenomenon measures the amount of additional heat the planet retains rather than reflecting it back into space. Since the 1976-1995 period, this imbalance has more than doubled, confirming a rapid accumulation of heat in the climate system.
The oceans are not spared. Marine heatwaves—periods when water temperatures become abnormally high—are multiplying. Between 1991 and 2025, the number of days affected by these events has more than tripled. These episodes disrupt marine ecosystems and threaten biodiversity.
Greenhouse gas emissions, the main drivers of this warming, have reached a record high of 54.6 billion tons of CO₂ equivalent per year. These emissions, by trapping heat in the atmosphere, amplify climate change and its consequences.
The rise in temperatures is accompanied by other major transformations. Ice is melting, sea levels are rising, and extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and intense. Each passing year confirms that human influence on the climate is now the dominant factor. Without drastic reductions in emissions, this trend is expected to continue, with increasingly severe impacts on societies and ecosystems.
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Cited Study
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-3889-2026
Title: Indicators of Global Climate Change 2025: annual update of key indicators of the state of the climate system and human influence
Journal: Earth System Science Data
Publisher: Copernicus GmbH
Authors: Piers M. Forster; Tristram Walsh; Chris Smith; William F. Lamb; Robin Lamboll; Christophe Cassou; Mathias Hauser; Zeke Hausfather; June-Yi Lee; Matthew D. Palmer; Karina von Schuckmann; Aimée B. A. Slangen; Sophie Szopa; Blair Trewin; Jeongeun Yun; Nathan P. Gillett; Stuart Jenkins; H. Damon Matthews; Krishnan Raghavan; Aurélien Ribes; Joeri Rogelj; Debbie Rosen; Xuebin Zhang; Myles Allen; Robbie M. Andrew; Chris Atkinson; Richard A. Betts; Antonio Bombelli; Samantha N. Burgess; Lijing Cheng; Helen E. Claxton; Pierre Friedlingstein; Thomas L. Frölicher; Catia M. Domingues; Thomas Gasser; Catherine H. Gregory; Rachel M. Hoesly; Daniel Huppmann; Masayoshi Ishii; Christopher Kadow; Alexia Karwat; John Kennedy; Rachel E. Killick; Mahesh V. M. Kovilakam; Paul B. Krummel; Xin Lan; Jean-François Lamarque; Aurélien Liné; Belén Martín-Míguez; Didier P. Monselesan; Colin Morice; Jens Mühle; Pino Mussak; Glen P. Peters; Anna Pirani; Julia Pongratz; Matthew Rigby; Robert Rohde; Abhishek Savita; Sonia I. Seneviratne; Steven J. Smith; Ghassan Taha; Caterina Tassone; Peter Thorne; Christopher Wells; Luke M. Western; Guido R. van der Werf; Susan E. Wijffels; Marco Zecchetto; Junting Zhong; Xiao-Ye Zhang; Valérie Masson-Delmotte; Panmao Zhai