Why Isn’t This Year as Hot as Last Year?

Created By RISC | 13 hours ago

Last modified date : 13 hours ago

Last summer felt a lot hotter—and there’s a reason. It was officially the hottest year on Earth in the past 175 years. According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), global surface temperatures in 2023 were 1.55°C (±0.13°C) above the pre-industrial average (1850–1900), primarily due to global warming and an intense El Niño.

This record-breaking heat was driven by the highest greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere seen in the past 800,000 years, coupled with warming from the Pacific Ocean during El Niño. The phenomenon began intensifying in 2023 and peaked in early 2024, pushing global temperatures to historic highs—including in Thailand.

In fact, Thailand’s average temperature in 2024 hit 28.5°C, making it the hottest year in 74 years, dating back to records from 1951 to 2024.

El Niño began to weaken by June 2024, however, and officially ended toward the year’s end. It was quickly followed by a short-lived La Niña, which began in January 2025. This led to a slight drop in Pacific Ocean temperatures and a temporary global cooling effect. But because this La Niña phase ended as early as March, its impact on global temperatures was brief—resulting in a summer this year that, while still warm, hasn’t been extremely hot.

Still, while 2025 temperatures may be lower than in 2024, we shouldn’t be complacent. Much of the heat stored in the world’s oceans last year remains—and continues to contribute to long-term above-average global temperatures. This is why reducing greenhouse gas emissions remains an urgent and essential task we must all commit to—now more than ever.

Story by Sirapach Mangkang, Geographic Information System (GIS) specialist, RISC

Reference by
https://www.tmd.go.th/climate/summaryyearly​
https://www.tmd.go.th/climate/El-Nino-La-Nina?show=25​
https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/enso_advisory/ensodisc.shtml?utm_source=chatgpt.com​
https://wmo.int/media/news/january-2025-sees-record-global-temperatures-despite-la-nina?utm_source=chatgpt.com​
https://wmo.int/news/media-centre/wmo-report-documents-spiralling-weather-and-climate-impacts?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAYnJpZBExSTl4Vm85Zldwa0NZR1pnVgEeRsIDw0bfpWMgDWSE4OtG631k4VifzWwXia-mk80oEYs4t2Z6HGYAEHXXKyU_aem_6j0-pm_0CQ7VfuQ2MPMdvA#:~:text=The%20clear%20signs%20of%20human,social%20upheavals%20from%20extreme%20weather.&text=WMO's%20State%20of%20the%20Global,doubled%20since%20satellite%20measurements%20began​