Asia’s warming rate doubled since 1991, WMO climate report finds
Ocean heat, glacier loss and extreme weather intensified across Asia
South Asia remained cooler in 2025 due to a stronger monsoon season
Asia warmed at almost double the rate between 1991 and 2025 compared with the preceding three decades, with 2025 emerging as one of the region's warmest years on record. The World Meteorological Organization detailed this rapid acceleration in its "State of the Climate in Asia 2025" report released on Wednesday.
Temperatures across the Asian landmass surged 0.96 degree Celsius above the 1991-2020 average last year, the WMO said. They stood 1.9 degree Celsius higher than the 1961-1990 baseline.
South Asia proved a notable exception. The Indian subcontinent enjoyed cooler-than-average conditions thanks to a favourable monsoon. "Temperatures were above average across most of the region, except for parts of South Asia. Cooler than average conditions prevailed over South Asia, including the Indian sub-continent, mainly due to good rainfall during the monsoon season," the WMO report said.
The findings underscore a dramatic continental shift. "A pronounced warming trend has emerged across Asia since the latter half of the twentieth century. During the two most recent subperiods (1961-1990 and 1991-2025), Asia warmed more rapidly than the global land and ocean average," the report added.
"This pattern is consistent with findings from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report, which also notes that temperatures over land increase faster than those over the ocean. Notably, the warming trend in Asia during the 1991-2025 period was approximately twice as strong as observed in the region during the 1991-1960 period," the WMO said.
Extreme Weather Toll
The continent faced relentless disasters. Extreme events in 2025 spanned West Asian droughts, East Asian heat, glacial lake outburst floods, and punishing tropical cyclones across the south and southeast. India battled flash floods in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi district. Cyclone Ditwah battered Sri Lanka and triggered intense inundation across Tamil Nadu.
"Asia is impacted by rising temperatures, warming ocean waters, higher sea levels and retreating glaciers. Heavy rainfall, flooding and drought have a heavy economic and human cost, while extreme heat, dust storms and glacial flooding are becoming major hazards," WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said.
Unprecedented Ocean Heat
Regional waters reached boiling points. Ocean heat content across Asia hit record levels last year, marking the highest levels recorded since 1960. Intense subsurface warming concentrated in the south-eastern Arabian Sea, the southern Bay of Bengal, waters south of Sri Lanka stretching into the central equatorial Indian Ocean, and the North Pacific.
Glaciers Melt, Summers Scorch
East Asia endured stifling conditions. China, Japan, and South Korea registered their hottest summers on record. Japanese summer temperatures spiked 2.36 degree Celsius above the 1991-2020 baseline, eclipsing previous records set in 2023 and 2024.
Heat anomalies spread widely. Central Asia suffered extended spring and summer heatwaves. Parts of Kazakhstan recorded daily temperature deviations reaching 14 degree Celsius above normal.
This persistent warmth devastated High Mountain Asia. All 23 monitored glaciers across the region, which encompasses the Tibetan Plateau and holds the greatest amount of ice outside polar zones, lost mass in 2025. The heavy melting followed scarce winter snowfall and unyielding high temperatures from May through September.
"Across Asia and the Pacific, heat is intensifying multi-hazard risks, intersecting with food systems, public health, infrastructure and oceans and placing new pressures on health and livelihoods,” said Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations.
