O=C=O<p>January sets an unexpected temperature record</p><p>Both 2023 and 2024 were exceptionally warm years, at just below and above 1.5C relative to preindustrial in the <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/WMO" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>WMO</span></a> composite of surface temperature records, respectively. While we are still working to assess the full set of drivers of this warmth, it is clear that a sizable portion of 2024’s elevated temperatures were driven by a moderately strong El Niño event that peaked in November 2023.<br>January 2025 beat the prior record set in January 2024 by a sizable margin. And unlike the prior record Januaries (2007, 2016, 2020, and 2024) there is currently no <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/ElNi%C3%B1o" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ElNiño</span></a> event boosting global temperatures; rather, the world is in modest <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/LaNi%C3%B1a" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>LaNiña</span></a> conditions that should, all things being equal, result in lower global temperatures.</p><p>So what does this mean? Thankfully <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/weather" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>weather</span></a> models expect global temperatures are set to drop next week as the Northern Hemisphere sharply cools, making it less likely that February will also set a new record. But an unexpected record to start things off may presage higher temperatures this year than many of us thought.</p><p><a href="https://www.theclimatebrink.com/p/january-sets-an-unexpected-temperature" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">theclimatebrink.com/p/january-</span><span class="invisible">sets-an-unexpected-temperature</span></a></p><p><a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/ClimateScience" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ClimateScience</span></a> <br><a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/GlobalHeating" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>GlobalHeating</span></a> <br><a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/ClimateCatastrophe" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ClimateCatastrophe</span></a></p>