2025 may be second-warmest year on Earth, just behind 2024
Summer temperatures arrived earlier this year, affecting millions of people in Central and Southern states.
According to CarbonBrief, a website dedicated to climate science, the contiguous 48 states experienced one of the hottest springs on record. In 131 years of records, March and April ranked as the fifth hottest two-month period, according to Yale Climate Connections.
The National Weather Service said more high heat and humidity are in store for the next few days.
Second-warmest start to a year
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data shows 2025 already has a 39% chance of being the second-warmest year on record, behind 2024, and a 3% chance of being the warmest year on record. There is a greater than 99% likelihood that 2025 will be one of the five warmest years on record, NOAA said.
The chart below shows that the first three months of 2025, as a whole, were the second-warmest Q1 recorded.
Unable to view our graphics? Click here to see them.
More: Minnesota wildfires fueled by 'near critical' heat destroy buildings, force evacuations
April was Earth's second-warmest on record
According to a research released by the European Copernicus Climate Change Service, the global average temperature for April 2025 was 1.08 degrees Fahrenheit above average – 0.13 degrees warmer than previous record set in April 2024.
Wildfires burn thousands of acres in Minnesota amid dangerous heat
As temperatures soared above historical averages, conditions were ripe for wildfires to spread in Minnesota.
Intense heat expected to persist
Now and in the coming days, a heat dome will keep temperatures 15 to 20 degrees above average, well into the upper 90s and triple-digits. The National Weather Service issued heat advisories for areas in Texas that stretch from the Texas Hill Country and the Rio Grande to the state's east coast.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises residents in areas with excessive heat to wear light clothing, drink lots of water, use their air conditioning and avoid from exerting themselves outside in order to prevent heat exhaustion or heat stroke.
What is a heat dome?
A heat dome occurs when a persistent region of high pressure traps heat over an area, according to William Gallus, professor of atmospheric science at Iowa State University.
"The heat dome can stretch over several states and linger for days to weeks, leaving the people, crops and animals below to suffer through stagnant, hot air that can feel like an oven," Gallus said in an article in The Conversation.
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SOURCE CarbonBrief, European Copernicus Climate Change Service, National Weather Service, NOAA, Reuters
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