But has climate action lost momentum? In 2025, a series of climate-linked natural disasters lashed the entire planet. Yet scientists worry we are burying our heads in the sand.
2025 in review: Climate crisis heats up
Tumultuous times: A series of global natural disasters highlighted the escalating climate crisis, yet international efforts to phase out fossil fuels stalled, despite record-breaking growth in renewable energy and green investment. Glossary
Apocalyptic - Referring to the end of the world, or the collapse of civilisation.
Texas - A US state with a population of 29 million.
Metaverse - An online virtual world. A combination of meta, meaning beyond, and universe.
Mercury - Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit invented the mercury-in-glass thermometer in 1714. For 250 years it was the most precise way to measure temperature.
Cyclones - A rapidly spinning storm that forms over tropical oceans.
COP30 - The 30th Conference of the Parties, the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Belém, Brazil, in November 2025.
Saudi Arabia - The second-largest country in the Arab world, with a population of nearly 35 million.
Renewables - Energy sources that do not use up non-renewable fossil fuels, such as wind and solar power.