"The past three years have been the world's hottest on record by far, with 2025 almost tied with 2023 for second place. With that energy came extreme weather, from flash flooding to powerful hurricanes and severe droughts. Yet, by most indicators, the planet should have been cooler in 2025 than it was."
"La Niña is part of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, a natural climate pattern that fluctuates between warm El Niño conditions and cooler La Niña conditions. During El Niño, the Pacific Ocean heats up along the equator, influencing the atmosphere in ways that can cause intense storms, droughts and heat waves around the planet. La Niña does the opposite; it's like putting an ice pack on the atmosphere."
"one particularly unhealthy influence has been quietly hiding a large amount of global warming - until now."
The past three years have set temperature records, with 2025 ranking as the third-hottest year despite multiple factors that should have cooled the planet. La Niña conditions arrived in September 2025, following two El Niño years, which typically cools the atmosphere. The solar cycle peaked in late 2024 and declined in 2025, reducing solar energy output. Additionally, fewer wildfires occurred in 2025 compared to 2024, decreasing atmospheric carbon dioxide. Yet despite these cooling influences, 2025 remained exceptionally warm, suggesting that an unidentified unhealthy influence has been quietly masking significant global warming effects.
Read at Fortune
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