Imagine stepping out in the morning and feeling the sun’s heat biting harder than ever. Now swallow this truth—2025 is shaping up to be among the hottest years ever recorded, if not second, then third in climate history. What’s behind this blaze? According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a combination of relentless climate shifts and human-driven change is pushing global temperatures into uncharted territory.
As top world leaders gather in Belém, Brazil for the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30), the message in the air is loud and clear—climate change is not just a global phenomenon; it’s knocking heavily on our front doors here in Nigeria and across Africa. The pressure to cut emissions and defend communities is more urgent than ever.
Image via wmo.int
According to the WMO’s State of the Global Climate Update 2025, released 6 November 2025, scientists pulled back the curtain on why 2025’s heat is so extreme. It’s not only the air and land that are changing—oceans and even the ice caps are sounding the alarm.
Explosive Rise in Greenhouse Gases: Why 2025’s Heat is Breaking Records
Image via wmo.int
No need for long grammar, the biggest culprit is right under our noses—greenhouse gases. Carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide—these invisible troublemakers are stacking up in record amounts. WMO data shows a sharp spike in 2025, even more than last year’s frightening numbers.
Carbon dioxide levels alone allegedly jumped by 53% since pre-industrial times, clocking in at a staggering 423.9 parts per million (ppm) in 2024. In just one year, 2023 to 2024, CO₂ rose 3.5 ppm—the highest yearly bump in decades.
Image via wmo.int
These gases form a thick “wrapper” around the Earth, trapping heat and stopping it from escaping. Without bold efforts to reduce fossil fuel use, cut down on industrial emissions, and protect our forests, this heating won’t just continue—it will escalate. Nigerians, especially, know the wahala a stubborn sun can cause—from crop failures to everyday heat stress.
Earth’s Sweltering Heat Stores: Oceans Feeling the Pressure
Image via wmo.int
Beneath all this drama, the world’s oceans are quietly holding more excess heat than ever. The WMO 2025 stats show unprecedented ocean heat content, officially outstripping previous years. But what does that mean for us, ehn?
– More intense storms and cyclones
– Coral reefs in crisis
– Oceans getting less able to store carbon
Even as the world moved from an El Niño period (typically hot) to cooler La Niña conditions, the heat refused to let up. Between January and August, the average surface temp was reportedly 1.42°C higher than pre-industrial norms, keeping pace with the record-smashing 2024. Only February offered minor relief—the rest of the months, Nigeria’s “otondo sun” had nothing on what the planet itself was experiencing.
Melting Ice: The Dangerous Feedback Loop Shocking the Planet
Getty Images/iStockphoto /Thinkstock (MARS)
The story of melting ice is as chilling as it is true. Arctic sea ice reached a shocking low of 13.8 million square kilometres during its winter “maximum”—the smallest since satellites started tracking in 1979. By September, the summer minimum skidded down to just 4.6 million square km—leaving more dark ocean to absorb sunlight and dialing up the global heat even further.
In Antarctica, the problem is hardly any better. This year marked the third-lowest sea ice extent, with swings from heartbreakingly thin to less-than-normal recovery. Why does it matter in this our part of the world? As ice vanishes up north and south, sea levels here at home rise, causing coastal erosion and displacing thousands of families, especially in riverine communities like those in Delta and Bayelsa States.
Globally, glaciers also lost more mass for the third year straight—enough melted ice to raise sea levels by 1.2mm, according to the World Glacier Monitoring Service. That may sound tiny, but for our fishermen in Ondo or people living near the Lagos coastline, even a small rise means land loss, floods, or ruined livelihoods.
Extreme Weather: When The Heat Becomes Too Much
Can you remember the floods that submerged parts of Lagos or the droughts that left farmers in Borno State struggling? Those aren’t random happenings. The WMO’s report connects the dots: record-shattering heat drives everything from wildfires in Europe to killer floods in Africa, including Nigeria.
What’s worse? According to the WMO, these weather events were reportedly amplified by the same emissions and warming trend. Secretary-General Celeste Saulo didn’t mince words: “It will be virtually impossible to limit global warming to 1.5°C in the next few years without temporarily overshooting this target.” Still, she offered hope that with urgent action, recovery is possible by the end of this century.
World Leaders Take the Stage at COP30: Echoes from Belém
With two days to go before elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged all sides to ensure the polls are free of violence
UN Secretary-General António Guterres, speaking from Belém, put things in crystal clear terms: “Each year above 1.5 degrees will hammer economies, deepen inequalities, and inflict irreversible damage.” The last eleven years—including every single year from 2015 to 2025—make up the hottest streak ever seen since records began, with aerosols and fading La Niña cycles exposing just how fierce the warming has become.
Bright Spots: Seeds of Progress Amid the Climate Heat
But it’s not all doom and gloom. There’s action worth celebrating, especially for Africans seeking local solutions. Since 2015, the number of countries with multi-hazard early warning systems has doubled—reaching 119 by last count, though 40% of vulnerable people globally are still uncovered. In Nigeria, more farmers are using seasonal climate reports to plan their crops, helping families avoid major losses come planting season.
National meteorological services, like those at NiMET, are reportedly stepping up. Across the continent, more agencies now provide “climate intelligence”—forecasting that helps agriculture, energy, and disaster management sectors. Renewable energy investors are using this data to manage the unpredictable ups and downs of solar and wind supply, critical as countries like Ghana and Kenya report major energy demand spikes, with some even noting a 30% jump in 2024 alone.
The Road Ahead: Can Africa Turn the Tide?
2025’s mark as one of the hottest on record is not just another headline. It’s a thunderous warning, backed by science and the lived realities of communities from Sokoto to Port Harcourt. According to the WMO—a respected international authority—the window for a liveable, sustainable planet is narrowing quickly. The full tally is due by March 2026, but the early message cannot be missed: bold choices, big and small, can still reverse this dangerous trend.
What can be done? Cut emissions, safeguard nature, embrace adaptation. Simple as it sounds, it takes collective effort—governments, businesses, communities, and everyday Nigerians working together. Will the shift happen or will we continue to “manage” as usual? That’s the question facing this generation.
Let’s Talk: How have climate changes or extreme heat affected you or your community here in Nigeria? Do you think enough is being done to tackle these challenges locally? Share your story—drop a comment below and let’s keep the conversation moving!
