Extreme climate in 2025 pushing millions closer to limits of adaptation: Report

Climate change fuelled extreme weather across the world in 2025 worsening heatwaves droughts storms and wildfires and pushing millions close to the limits of adaptation according to the World Weather Attributions annual reportScientists have called for a rapid reduction of fossil fuel consumption to avoid the worst consequences of climate change it saidThe World Weather Attribution is an international collaboration that analyses and communicates the possible influence of climate change on extreme weather events such as storms extreme rainfall heatwaves and droughtsAccording to the report heatwaves have become measurably more intense since the Paris Agreement was signed with some events now up to 10 times more likely to happen than in 2015In 2025 climate change fuelled extreme weather across the world worsening heatwaves droughts storms and wildfires and pushing millions close to the limits of adaptation Global temperatures were exceptionally high throughout the year the report saidIt noted that although natural modes like El Nintildeo Southern Oscillation were in a cooler phase global warming made 2025 one of the warmest years on recordExtreme weather disproportionally affects vulnerable groups and marginalised communities This inequality is also seen in climate science where lack of data and limitations in climate models constrain analyses for Global South events the report saidThe experts said reducing vulnerability and exposure of the population saves lives but some extreme events in 2025 showed that climate change is already pushing millions close to the limits of adaptationEach year the risks of climate change become less hypothetical and more brutal reality Friederike Otto professor in Climate Science at the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial College London saidThe report shows that despite efforts to cut carbon emissions they have fallen short in preventing global temperature rise and the worst impacts Decisionmakers must face the reality that their continued reliance on fossil fuels is costing lives billions in economic losses and causing irreversible damage to communities worldwide Otto who is also the cofounder of World Weather Attribution addedThe report noted that 2025 despite being a year with La Nintildea conditions a feature that is usually associated with colder equatorial Pacific ocean waters and milder global temperatures this year will still be one of the hottest three ever recordedThe threeyear average will also cross the 15 degrees Celsius threshold for the first time The rapid studies conducted by World Weather Attribution this year highlight the consequences of this warming Most extreme weather events analysed by the group showed the fingerprints of climate changeThe analyses also show that for every extreme event vulnerable populations are systematically the hardest hit the report notedIn 2025 World Weather Attribution identified 157 extreme weather events that met a set of criteria of humanitarian impact Floods and heatwaves were the most frequent occurrences with 49 events each followed by storms 38 wildfires 11 droughts 7 and cold spells 3The team studied 22 of those events indepth three in Africa seven in the Americas five in Asia six in Europe and one in OceaniaOf those 17 were made more severe or more likely due to climate change while five yielded inconclusive results mostly due to the lack of weather data and limitations in climate modelsThe scientists also revisited six previous heat events for a report looking at how extreme heat has become more frequent and intense since the signing of the Paris AgreementSince 2015 global warming has increased but some heatwaves have become almost 10 times more likely yet another evidence that when it comes to climate change every fraction of a degree matters they said in the reportHeatwaves were the deadliest extreme weather events of 2025 While most heatrelated deaths remain unreported one study estimated that 24400 died from a single summer heatwave in Europe this year the report saidTropical cyclones and storms were also among the deadliest events of the year One of the worst examples happened recently when several simultaneous storms hit Asia and Southeast Asia killing more than 1700 people and causing billions in damagesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever