Asia Records One of Hottest Years as WMO Warns of Intensifying Climate Impacts

Asia experienced one of its hottest years on record in 2025, marked by rising temperatures, accelerating glacier retreat, record ocean heat and increasingly destructive weather events, according to a new report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which warned that climate change is intensifying across the region.

The State of the Climate in Asia 2025 report found that average temperatures across Asia were 0.96°C above the 1991–2020 baseline, placing 2025 between the second and fourth warmest years ever recorded for the continent.

The report also found that Asia has been warming faster than the global average in recent decades. Between 1991 and 2025, the region’s warming trend was approximately double the rate recorded during 1961–1990.

“Asia is impacted by rising temperatures, warming ocean waters, higher sea levels and retreating glaciers,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo. “Heavy rainfall, flooding and drought have a heavy economic and human cost, while extreme heat, dust storms and glacial flooding are becoming major hazards. This report highlights the importance of observations, early warning systems and impact-based forecasting to adapt to our changing climate.”

Temperature patterns across the continent remained uneven. Most of Asia recorded above-average temperatures, with the strongest warming concentrated in north-western parts of the region and across a broad corridor extending from western China to Japan. In contrast, parts of South Asia, including the Indian subcontinent, experienced cooler-than-average conditions.

Rainfall patterns also reflected growing climate volatility. Much of southern Asia received above-average rainfall, with the Indian monsoon delivering exceptionally heavy precipitation. Wetter-than-normal conditions were also recorded across large parts of South-East Asia and sections of East Asia.

Extreme rainfall events had severe consequences. In Pakistan, monsoon-related flooding was linked to more than 1,000 deaths and left over 3 million people in need of assistance. In Vietnam, prolonged flooding driven by multiple weather systems resulted in at least 200 deaths.

The report highlighted growing concern over High-Mountain Asia, often described as the world’s “Third Pole” because of its extensive ice reserves.

All 23 monitored glaciers in the region lost mass during the 2025 glaciological year. Reduced winter snowfall combined with persistently above-average temperatures accelerated glacier retreat across multiple mountain systems.

Meanwhile, ocean heat content reached a new record in 2025, continuing a long-term warming trend observed since the 1990s. The most intense subsurface ocean warming was recorded in parts of the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, the central equatorial Indian Ocean and the North Pacific.