Climate extremes hit poorest communities hardest - report

EXTREME weather events driven by human-induced climate change continued to disproportionately hit poorer communities in 2025, a group of international scientists found.

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The last year saw devastating conditions across the world, including worsening heatwaves, droughts, storms and wildfires.

Global temperatures were so high that they made 2025 one of the hottest three years ever recorded, according to scientists behind the World Weather Attribution's (WWA) annual report.

This came despite "La Nina" conditions - a weather phenomenon usually associated with cooler global temperatures.

The three-year global temperature average will cross the key warming threshold of 1.5C for the first time, the scientists found.

Passing 1.5C over the long term means the world could see increased climate risks, faster sea-level rise and growing chances of passing irreversible "tipping points".

And for every extreme event, vulnerable populations are systematically the hardest hit, according to its analyses.