The warning from the planet is no longer subtle; it is a full-blown alarm. And this is not the kinda alarm we can snooze shamelessly for long.
In the latest report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), it has been made abundantly clear that the climate of Earth has moved way beyond its natural balance due to the actions of humans at an unprecedented rate.
SIGH!
Scientists do not refer to this time frame as a cycle, or part of a natural fluctuation, instead, they refer to it as a systemic collapse happening in real-time.
WOAH, let that sink in.
In the Annual Climate Report for 2025 released by the WMO, as reported by Scientific American, Hindustan Times and Earth.org, no time in recorded history will compare to what Earth is currently experiencing.
Global Warming and Record Temperatures: Eleven Hottest Years Ever Recorded
The data is too “in our face” to slide past. Between 2015 and 2025, the 11 hottest years on record occurred, with 2025 being one of the three hottest years in modern history. The average temperature of the Earth has already risen to approximately 1.43 degrees Celsius (°C) higher than pre-industrial levels, which puts the world dangerously close to breaching the 1.5°C level indicated by scientists as the critical threshold for climate change.
Scientists have found evidence that the rate at which the planet has warmed has drastically changed from the past. Currently, instead of increasing in a linear fashion as it had from 1970 to 2015, the rate at which the planet has warmed is accelerating too swiftly. A recent study highlighted by Earth.org reported that the average rate of warming between 2015 and 2025 was approximately 0.35°C compared to the previous decade’s 0.2°C.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, has continued to make this point in his statements. Guterres notes, “Humanity has just endured the eleven hottest years on record. When history repeats itself eleven times, it is no longer a coincidence. It is a call to act.” He views climate change as an NOW crisis requiring NOW action, rather than a future threat.
No single factor best explains climate change; rather, scientists have identified one essential measure that makes it easy to understand: the Earth’s energy imbalance!
The energy imbalance describes how much energy the Earth takes in from the sun and returns back into space. Under stable conditions, these two amounts are close to equal (balanced), but that is not currently the case.
Guterres put the imbalance into clear and stark language when he said: “Our planet is trapping heat faster than it can shed it.”
The current level of the imbalance is at an unprecedented level, indicating clearly that the climate system has lost its balance.
The imbalance is primarily caused by the activities of humans.
So yes, we all may be guilty as charged.
The ongoing combustion of fossil fuels creates a large volume of carbon-dioxide emissions and creates a large quantity of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere that create a warming effect on the planet by trapping heat. Carbon-dioxide levels are at their highest point in two million years and methane levels are at their highest point in at least eight hundred thousand years, according to the United Nations World Meteorological Organization.
The WMO notes that the imbalance has accelerated significantly since 1960 and has risen too starkly during the last 20 years.
Scientists are beginning to consider this imbalance as one of the best indicators of how deeply humans are changing the way the natural systems of the Earth function.
Kya itna bura hoon mai ma?
The excess heat in the ocean is not equally spread throughout the world; rather, it has been converted into the ocean, which is a heat sink, absorbing and storing about 91 percent of the extra heat from climate change. Therefore, while the ocean is absorbing the excess heat, it is causing temporary heat spikes on land, which have a long-term effect of creating a larger build-up of excess heat over time.
2025 was the hottest year on record, with ocean heat content at a record highest level. The ocean has warmed at more than twice the rate of the previous decades, with nearly 90 percent of the ocean experiencing at least one marine heatwave in 2025, putting stress on marine ecosystems and disrupting biodiversity.
The increase in ocean temperature has increased the melting of ice and increased the direct contribution of sea level rise. The global average sea level was approximately 11 centimeters higher in 2025 than in 1993, and the glaciers continue to lose mass at alarming rates, while the Arctic sea ice has reached historic low levels.
The Antarctic sea ice has also been recorded at some of the lowest levels seen in the last couple of years.
The effects of climate change are not independent of other climate change impacts. The warming of the oceans increases the intensity of storms, cyclones, and coastal flooding, which have a multiplicative effect that increases the risk of climate change throughout many areas.
The growing frequency and intensity of heatwaves, heavy rainfall, tropical cyclones, and droughts can be attributed to rising global temperatures. 2025 is expected to be one of the most costly years for climate disasters, with a report by Earth.org indicating economic loss of around $120 billion from the 10 most expensive climate disasters. U.S. wildfires, particularly in Los Angeles, accounted for nearly $60 billion of those costs and numerous fatalities.
Cyclones and extreme rains from the monsoons devastated much of South Asia (Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and Malaysia), killing many and causing mass displacement.
WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo emphasized that “Human activities are increasingly disrupting the natural equilibrium, and we will live with these consequences for hundreds and thousands of years.”
Climate Change Affects India: El Niño/Weak Monsoon/Heat Stress Risks
Climate change has different impacts on different regions; in the case of India, the risks are especially complicated. Climate models predict that the likelihood of an El Niño developing will be greater later in 2026; a report from Hindustan Times indicates that there is a 60% chance of an El Niño forming between August and November of that year.
*SHUDDER SHUDDER*
In India, El Niño generally results in weaker monsoons and hotter summers, both of which will directly affect agricultural production, water availability, and food security. Farmers depend heavily on predictable monsoon patterns, and any variation in these patterns may threaten their crop yields and rural livelihoods.
Heat stress remains a serious risk for Indians as well, as over one-third of the global workforce will be exposed to extreme heat annually, especially those who work in agriculture and construction. Because of the size of India’s outdoor workforce, it has a particularly high exposure.
Climate changes are also facilitating the spread of many diseases, for example, dengue fever, now the fastest growing mosquito-borne illness globally, continues to expand its reach, due to more favourable temperature conditions.