Warmest January on record declared as extreme weather continues

The declaration came as the Bureau of Meteorology confirmed 2024 was Australia's second-warmest year on record.

Australia has been hit with extreme weather events in the first month of 2025. Source: AAP / Bianca De Marchi

A run of record-breaking global temperatures continued last month even with a La Niña weather pattern cooling the tropical Pacific.

The Copernicus Climate Change Service declared last month the warmest January on record, with surface air temperatures 1.75C above pre-industrial levels.

The European Union-funded earth observation program highlighted wetter-than-average conditions in eastern Australia and drier-than-average conditions in other parts of the country.

European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts strategic lead for climate Samantha Burgess was surprised by another record-breaking month of average world conditions.

"January 2025 is another surprising month, continuing the record temperatures observed throughout the last two years, despite the development of La Niña conditions in the tropical Pacific and their temporary cooling effect on global temperatures," Burgess said.

"Copernicus will continue to closely monitor ocean temperatures and their influence on our evolving climate throughout 2025."

Sea surface temperatures remained unusually high in many ocean basins and seas.

January marked the eighteenth month of the last nineteen to record global-average surface temperatures exceeding 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

Some parts of Australia have been hit with heatwaves, while others are being flooded. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas

Under the Paris Agreement, world leaders pledged to try to prevent global temperatures rising by more than 1.5C but the threshold is based on long-term multi-decadal warming and not short-term monthly temperatures.

Australia's Bureau of Meteorology has confirmed the nation's second-warmest year since national records began in 1910 in its annual climate statement.

Australia's warmest year on record was 2019.

In 2024, the national annual average temperature was found to be 1.46C warmer than the long-term average, with high temperatures consistently logged over the course of the year.

Tropical cyclones brought heavy rainfall to northern parts of Australia early in the year, while large parts of the country during early and late 2024 and into 2025 sweltered through severe heatwaves.

Annual sea surface temperatures broke new records for the region, at 0.89C above the long-term average.

"Globally, 2024 was the warmest year on record, and global warming continues to influence our climate," the bureau said in a statement.

Australia has been battered by a range of extreme weather events over the past few weeks, including severe flooding in north Queensland, bushfires in regional Victoria and heatwaves across parts of the country.