Asia warmed faster than rest of the world in recent decades: WMO
The report said 2025 was between the second and fourth warmest year on record.
Asia has warmed faster than the global average in recent decades, with the warming trend during 1991-2025 approximately twice that observed during 1961-1990, according to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) report on the State of the Climate released yesterday (17 June).
The report said 2025 was between the second and fourth warmest year on record.
Extreme heat was a defining feature of 2025 across much of Asia, it said.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Japan, China and South Korea all recorded their hottest summer on record, while prolonged heatwaves affected Central Asia, parts of West Asia and the Arabian Peninsula, according to the report.
The report said ocean heat content in Asia has increased since the 1990s and reached a new record in 2025.
Marine heatwaves affected almost the entire ocean area of Asia, with over 10 million sq km impacted during July-September, more than the size of China or the United States.
Sea level in the Asia region also reached its highest level since satellite records began in 1999.
Rates of sea-level rise from 1999 to 2025 along much of the northern Indian Ocean coast exceeded the global average per year, the report said.
According to the report, all 23 monitored glaciers in high-mountain Asia lost mass, driven by above-average temperatures and below-average winter snow.
"This threatens long-term water security in the world's most heavily populated region and leads to an upsurge in hazards with multiple glacial lake outburst floods and glacier collapses being recorded in 2025," the report warned.
