Belém or bust

COP30 may be humanity's last chance to act as warming accelerates and adaptation funds falter, warn a series of reports released ahead of UN climate talks in Belém, Brazil

- AKSHIT SANGOMLA, PUJA DAS AND MADHUMITA PAUL

OVER THE past weeks, as world leaders and diplomats prepared to gather in the heart of the world's largest rainforest, in Belém, Brazil, for the 30th UN climate summit (coP30), scientists, research groups and international agencies released a flurry of reports warning of imminent crises brought about by years of inaction and faltering progress on climate goals. By now, the release of such reports ahead of the annual talks on limiting global warming has become routine, and whether negotiators at COP30, which began on November 10, will pay any heed to the findings remains to be seen. Yet the reports present a growing body of evidence which scream that humanity would do well to heed their warnings.

The latest in this series comes from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which warns that 2025 is on track to be the second- or third-hottest year on record. The 11 years, from 2015 to 2025, have each ranked among the 11 warmest in the 176-year observational record, with the past three being the hottest of all. "The alarming streak of exceptional temperatures continued in 2025," notes WMO's "State of the Global Climate Update 2025".

The report states that the 26 months from June 2023 to August 2025 saw an extended streak of record-breaking monthly temperatures, apart from February 2025.