THE world was warmed to yet another monthly record temperature in January, despite a cooling La Nina and predictions of a slightly less hot 2025, according to the European climate service Copernicus.

The surprising January heat record coincides with a new study by former top Nasa scientist James Hansen and others arguing that global warming is accelerating. It’s a claim that’s dividing the research community.

January 2025 globally was 0.09°C warmer than January 2024, the previous hottest January, and was 1.75°C warmer than it was before industrial times, Copernicus calculated.