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You probably don’t need me to tell you this, but recent data suggests that the planet is still getting hotter. The Economist shows the shifts with a heatmap:
The past 11 years are the warmest since records began, with the past three top of the leader-board. Hottest of the lot was 2024, which coincided with a strong Niño—a pattern of winds and ocean currents that nudges the thermometer upwards—combined with a peak of the 11-year solar cycle when the sun shines brightest. But in 2025 El Niño tailed off, to be replaced by its opposite pattern, La Niña, and the sun—only a minor part of the story in any case—began to dim. That 2025 was cooler than its predecessor was thus no surprise. But as La Niña years go, it was sweltering: the hottest yet.
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