According to studies conducted by World Weather Attribution, the year 2025 recorded more than 150 extreme events with a significant impact on populations and is considered the second or third hottest year ever observed globally.
Once again, 2025 witnessed its share of climate-related disasters—often exacerbated by global warming—including wildfires, hurricanes, heatwaves and floods.
One striking example of the influence of climate change during the year was the heatwave that gripped Juba, the capital of South Sudan, in February.
Human-driven emissions at the root
The cause is clear: greenhouse gas emissions linked to human activity pushed temperatures four degrees higher than they would have been without human influence.
Before climate change—specifically around 1850—South Sudanese populations could expect to experience such a heatwave once every 1,600 years. Today, it occurs once every two years, and according to warming projections, by 2100 it could happen every year.
The study also highlighted the disproportionate impact of this heatwave on women, who are more exposed due to their daily activities.
From South Sudan to Botswana
The analysis then turns to Botswana, which experienced five consecutive days of torrential rain and severe flooding. The current level of global warming—estimated at 1.3°C—has increased the intensity of these rains by 60%.
World Weather Attribution pointed out that while abundant data are available for countries in the Global North, the situation is very different for those in the Global South.
As a result, scientists were unable to assess the floods in Kinshasa due to a lack of sufficient data.
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