The main purpose of this ongoing blog will be to track planetary extreme, or record temperatures related to climate change. Any reports I see of ETs will be listed below the main topic of the day. I’ll refer to extreme or record temperatures as ETs (not extraterrestrials).😜
Main Topic: 2025 State of the Climate Report: Our Planet’s Vital Signs are Crashing
Dear Diary. Today I am posting another article that shows us how badly climate signals are blinking red. This one is pertaining to an official 2025 State of the Climate Report. I keep shouting from this little old site about how much countries, most notably the United States, need to change their energy consuming habits, but we don’t see significant enough change to keep global averages south of about +3.0°C above preindustrial conditions by the year 2100.
Here is that report from Eos:
2025 State of the Climate Report: Our Planet’s Vital Signs are Crashing – Eos
2025 State of the Climate Report: Our Planet’s Vital Signs are Crashing
29 October 2025
A new assessment of Earth’s climate shows a highly stressed planetary system. Credit: NASA/John Space Center
A yearly analysis of climate change’s progress and effects shows a “planet on the brink” of ecological breakdown and widespread crisis and suggests that only rapid climate mitigation can avoid the worst consequences.
“We felt an ethical responsibility to document this turning point clearly.”
“We felt an ethical responsibility to document this turning point clearly and to speak directly to humanity about where we stand,” wrote William Ripple, an ecologist at Oregon State University and coauthor of the new report, in an email. “What we’re seeing now are signs of systemic distress.”
The sixth annual report, published in BioScience, analyzes global data on Earth’s atmosphere, oceans, energy, ecosystems, food systems, and more. Researchers identified our planet’s so-called vital signs, including ocean temperature, surface temperature, sea ice extent, and carbon pollution. Of the 34 vital signs, 22 were at record levels, indicating a highly stressed Earth system.
For example, 2024 surpassed 2023 as the hottest year on record. Ocean heat and wildfire-related tree cover loss are both at all-time highs. Deadly weather disasters surged in 2024 and 2025, with floods, wildfires, and typhoons killing hundreds in the U.S. alone. Atmospheric warming is showing signs of accelerating. Ice at the poles continues to melt, contributing to sea level rise. And the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, a global network of currents critical for circulating heat on Earth, is showing signs of weakening, which could trigger further climate disruptions.
Sixteen of the 34 vital signs that researchers tracked as part of their 2025 State of the Climate report. Credit: Ripple et al. 2025, doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biaf149
“Without effective strategies, we will rapidly encounter escalating risks that threaten to overwhelm systems of peace, governance, and public and ecosystem health,” said Ripple in a press release. “In short, we’ll be on the fast track to climate-driven chaos, a dangerous trajectory for humanity.”
Another “State of the Climate” report was published in August. The Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society report, authored by more than 500 scientists, presented similar indicators of a stressed Earth system, including record-setting ice loss at the poles, unusually high global temperatures, and an increase in the frequency and severity of weather disasters and wildfires.
Notable climate anomalies and events in 2024, based on information from NOAA’s State of the Climate reports. Credit: Blunden et al. 2025, doi.org/10.1175/2025BAMSStateoftheClimate.1
Climate & Consumption
The new report identifies resource consumption, especially meat and energy consumption, as a major driver of climate change and ecological harm.
“We can’t fix the climate by technology alone; we have to rethink the way we live.”
Global gross domestic product, or GDP, a measure of the goods and services produced in a given year, reached an all-time high in 2025 according to preliminary data. While such economic growth is often celebrated, it is also typically coupled with ecological degradation and increased emissions, the authors point out. Reducing consumption, especially among the world’s wealthiest individuals (who tend to consume more resources), is essential to managing the effects of climate change, they write.
“We need systemic change: rethinking what we value, shifting toward circular economies, and promoting well-being over endless growth,” Ripple wrote in an email. “We can’t fix the climate by technology alone; we have to rethink the way we live.”
Though the use of solar- and wind-powered electricity is soaring, so is fossil fuel consumption. The State of the Climate authors emphasize that a rapid reduction of fossil fuel use is both necessary and possible, and that renewable energy sources have the potential to supply most global energy needs by 2050.
“We are in a planetary emergency, but we are not powerless,” Ripple wrote. “The science is clear, the mitigation strategies are known, and every fraction of a degree matters.”
—Grace van Deelen (@gvd.bsky.social), Staff Writer
These updates are made possible through information from the scientific community. Do you have a story about science or scientists? Send us a tip at eos@agu.org.
Related
AGU Editors Call for Action to Address Global Climate Crisis
UN Emissions Gap Report: Despite Progress, World Still Far Behind Climate Targets
Leading Congress Member Promises Renewed Focus on Climate Change
Here are more “ET’s” recorded from around the planet the last couple of days, their consequences, and some extreme temperature outlooks, as well as any extreme precipitation reports
Here is More Climate News from Sunday:
(As usual, this will be a fluid post in which more information gets added during the day as it crosses my radar, crediting all who have put it on-line. Items will be archived on this site for posterity. In most instances click on the pictures of each tweet to see each article. The most noteworthy items will be listed first.)