Intense Climate Contradiction in 2025: Marked as One of the Warmest Episodes Ever, Yet to Deliver Sudden Cold Spells
2025: A Scorcher Among the Ages, Bracing for Record-Breaking Heat
📸 Credit: Link to KP Photo Bank
The world's thermometer might be off the charts in 2025, as per the UN's World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The upcoming year seems destined to join the Hall of Fame of the hottest years on record, beating out the scorching 2024.
But what does this mean for us regular folk, and how does this global prediction tie into the Russia's unforgettable May snow of 2025?
Staying Warm in a Cold World
In Russia, it's no picnic—the first five months of 2025 saw the highest temperatures ever recorded on average, as reported by Roman Vilfand, the scientific director of the Russian Hydrometeorological Center in an interview with "Komsomolskaya Pravda" radio. Although we might not feel it, meteorologists live and breathe hard data.
Listen up, the WMO predicts that the current year could make a serious run for the top five—or even the top three—warmest years in terms of average temperature. This forecast boils down to the fact that waters in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans between the 60th parallel south and the 60th parallel north are heating up. This warm water moves energy to the atmosphere, which largely decides how toasty or chilly our planet will be.
Will it be Bikini Weather Forever?
Nope, there will still be those nippy surprises. Acclaimed scientist, academician Alexander Obukhov, has a prophetic phrase that's echoed in our minds this year: "During periods of climate warming, the weather gets touchy." This mood swing manifests itself in the form of extreme events that shape the average values.
Take the weather in Moscow this spring, for example. We haven't seen such wild ups and downs in the mercury for quite some time. It's madness! May started with bone-chilling temperatures but by the month's end, it was delightfully summery. Yet the overall average temperature for May came incredibly close to the usual climate norm.
Riding the Global Warming Rollercoaster
Global warming is not a guaranteed passport to perpetual heat, contrary to popular belief. The warming earth doesn't mean we shed all chilly surprises. On the contrary, global warming amps up intense heat as well as freezing cold spells. So-called heatwaves are becoming increasingly prevalent and dangerous, but they're accompanied by severe cold snaps too.
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Extra Insights:
- The WMO's predictions are backed by 70% probability that the five-year average warming from 2025-2029 will exceed the 1.5°C mark above pre-industrial levels[1][2][5].
- Despite the global warming trend, short-term weather anomalies such as sudden cold snaps can still occur due to regional differences and natural variability[1].
- In Russia, for example, the May snow in Moscow is a manifestation of local climate variability as global warming continues[1][5].
- Cold snaps can still happen due to atmospheric patterns like the Arctic Oscillation or volcanic eruptions, although their effects are usually short-lived and regional[2].
Key Points:
- Global Temperature Forecast: 70% chance that the five-year average warming from 2025-2029 will exceed 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels[1][5].
- Regional Variability: Big regional variations in precipitation and temperature patterns[1].
- Sudden Cold Snaps: Still possible due to natural variability and regional weather patterns[2].
- Impact on Russia: May snow in Moscow illustrates regional weather variability that can occur despite overall warming trends[1][5].
- In light of the World Meteorological Organization's prediction, 2025 could be among the record-breaking hottest years, due to warming waters in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
- However, the weather remains unpredictable, even in the context of climate change, as shown by the unexpected May snow in Moscow and the possibility of both extreme heat and cold spells occurring.
