The world’s imbalance between incoming and outgoing energy is growing ever faster, the UN warned.
The planet gains energy from the sun and releases it as heat. Under usual circumstances, the two are in equilibrium, but greenhouse gases trap more energy, and as concentrations increase, temperatures rise.
The World Meteorological Organization report noted that the imbalance in 2025 was the greatest it’s been since measurement began in 1960. That is unsurprising, however, as it is implicit in the fact that atmospheric CO₂ concentrations are increasing.
A more noteworthy fact is that ocean heat rose twice as fast in the last 20 years as in the 40 beforehand. This is the first time the WMO report has included energy imbalance.