The last eleven years have been the hottest ever recorded, according to World Meteorological Organization. This accelerating climate crisis is already causing deadly disasters, deepening inequalities, and threatening future generations especially in vulnerable regions.
Des feux de forêt en Turquie en 2025, l’un des nombreuses catastrophes que le dérèglement climatique va amplifier. – © Onur Yurtsever / AFP
The climate is no longer “changing.” It is accelerating. According to a new report released by the World Meteorological Organization, the past eleven years are officially the hottest ever recorded. This is not a statistical anomaly it is a pattern, and a dangerous one.
Speaking alongside the report, António Guterres issued a stark warning: when history repeats itself eleven times, it is no longer coincidence it is a call to act. Data from Copernicus Climate Change Service already showed that 2025 ranks among the top three hottest years ever measured, confirming a long-term warming trend driven by human activity.
A planet overheating, a crisis multiplying
The consequences are already unfolding across continents. In 2025 alone, extreme weather events from heatwaves and wildfires to floods and cyclones caused thousands of deaths and affected millions of people worldwide. Economic losses reached billions, further exposing the vulnerability of already fragile economies.At the heart of this crisis lies a growing imbalance in Earth’s energy system.
Scientists now warn that the planet is absorbing more energy than it releases, a disruption caused by record levels of greenhouse gases — the highest in at least 800,000 years. This imbalance is not abstract; it is the engine behind rising temperatures, melting glaciers, and collapsing ecosystems.And the most alarming part? According to experts, the consequences of today’s emissions will last for centuries even millennia.
Climate injustice: those least responsible suffer the most
While climate change is global, its impacts are deeply unequal. Countries in Africa, small island states, and low-income communities are among the most affected despite contributing the least to global emissions.Women and girls, particularly in rural areas, face compounded risks.
From water scarcity to food insecurity and displacement, climate stress often translates into increased vulnerability, including exposure to gender-based violence. Climate change, in this sense, is not just an environmental crisis — it is a social justice issue.Ignoring this dimension means ignoring half of the problem.
Beyond warnings: the urgency of action
For years, reports have sounded the alarm. But this latest data removes any remaining doubt: the window for meaningful action is rapidly closing.Reducing greenhouse gas emissions, transitioning away from fossil fuels, and investing in climate adaptation are no longer policy options they are survival strategies. Governments, institutions, and citizens all have a role to play.
Because the real danger is no longer what we don’t know.It is what we know and fail to act on.
