Earth just experienced its warmest January on record
Pablo Porciuncula/AFP via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — It may have been a frigid January for much of the U.S., but that didn’t stop the planet from breaking another temperature record.
Earth just experienced its warmest January on record, according to data analyzed by the Copernicus Climate Change Service.
Despite a record-breaking snowfall in the south, persistent cold temperatures across the northeast and an emerging La Niña event in the Pacific Ocean, which is supposed to cool things down, January 2025 was still warmer than any previous start to the year in the organization’s dataset going back to 1940.
The average surface air temperature was 55.81 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s 1.42 degrees Fahrenheit above the 1991-2020 average for the month of January. It also makes the global average temperature over the past 12 months 2.9 degrees Fahrenheit above the 1850-1900 pre-industrial average.
For context, the Paris Agreement — which President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from last month — set 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit as a ceiling to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
Similarly, global daily sea surface temperatures across most of the world’s oceans remain well above average and registered as the second-highest January value on record, just behind 2024.
Last month’s temperature was unprecedented compared to similar global climate cycles in the past, where temperatures dropped with El Niño long gone and La Niña conditions in place.
The increase’s magnitude and persistence have shocked many climate experts, leaving them somewhat puzzled about what else could be behind the remarkable rise.
In addition to human-amplified climate change and natural global climate cycles, a growing amount of research suggests that a decrease in atmospheric aerosols could be a significant contributor to the rapid warming.
Atmospheric aerosols are tiny particles that reflect sunlight into space and reduce global temperatures. However, their concentrations have greatly diminished due to international efforts to reduce air pollution in recent decades. Now, more sunlight reaches the Earth’s surface, creating a heating effect.
For decades, we’ve been removing aerosols from our air without fully realizing the potential cascading effects of these actions.
To help solve this puzzle, climate scientists are eagerly awaiting the first batch of operational data from NASA’s newest Earth-observing satellite, PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem), launched nearly a year ago. This data will provide more insight into how various atmospheric aerosols behave and interact with each other.
(LONDON) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his gratitude for the “absolute heroism” of Ukrainians over three years defending against Russia’s invasion, of which Monday marked the third anniversary.
“Three years of resistance,” Zelenskyy wrote in a statement on social media. “Three years of gratitude. Three years of absolute heroism of Ukrainians.”
“I am proud of Ukraine! I thank everyone who defends and supports it,” Zelenskyy wrote. “Everyone who works for Ukraine. And may the memory of all those who gave their lives for our state and people be eternal.”
A host of foreign leaders traveled to Ukraine on Monday to show their solidarity with Ukraine and Zelenskyy, who is under growing pressure from President Donald Trump’s administration to sign a controversial agreement handing the U.S. access to hundreds of billions of dollars worth of Ukrainian resources.
Olga Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s deputy minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, wrote on X on Monday that “nearly all key details” of the deal “are finalized.” Kyiv, she added, hopes for the agreement to be signed soon.
The proposed deal, plus nascent peace talks between the U.S. and Russia without Ukrainian involvement, have frayed ties between Kyiv and Washington, D.C. in recent weeks. Trump’s approach — which has included multiple public attacks on Zelenskyy’s conduct and legitimacy — has also prompted pushback from other allied leaders.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa will represent the European Union in Kyiv on Monday. Von der Leyen used her visit to announce a new $3.6 billion aid package for Ukraine.
Other foreign leaders arriving in the Ukrainian capital include Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal, Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
European leaders will arrive in Kyiv as the EU approves its 16th sanctions package against Russia since Moscow’s invasion began three years ago. The bloc said in a press release that it added 48 people and 35 entities to its sanctions list.
The package also introduced measures against another 74 vessels suspected of being part of Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” used to circumvent sanctions, plus new sanctions related to Russia’s financial sector.
Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said in a statement that the new package “not only targets the Russian shadow fleet but those who support the operation of unsafe oil tankers, video game controllers used to pilot drones, banks used to circumvent our sanctions and propaganda outlets used to spout lies.”
“There is no doubt about who the aggressor is, who should pay and be held accountable for this war,” she added. “Every sanction package deprives the Kremlin of funds to wage war. With talks underway to end Russia’s aggression, we must put Ukraine in the strongest possible position. Sanctions provide leverage.”
Russia, meanwhile, said President Vladimir Putin spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping by phone, a Kremlin readout of the call describing the conversation as “lengthy” and “warm.”
Notably, the Kremlin said Xi expressed “support for the dialogue that has begun between Russia and the United States” and “its readiness to assist in finding ways to peacefully resolve the Ukrainian conflict.”
It also hailed China and Russia’s relationship as “the most important stabilizing factor in world affairs.”
(LONDON) — A child who had been missing for five days was found alive this week in a vast game park inhabited by big cats and other wild animals in northern Zimbabwe, officials said.
The young boy was reported missing from his home in a rural village on Dec. 27, according to a statement from the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks), which did not identify the child by name but said he was 7 years old. A joint search operation involving park rangers, police officers and members of the local community was immediately launched, but heavy rainfall hindered the effort, ZimParks said.
Human footprints were discovered in an area of the Matusadona National Park on Dec. 30 and the boy was successfully located during the early morning hours of Dec. 31, according to ZimParks.
“Remarkably, it is estimated that he walked through the harsh terrain of the lion infested Matusadona National Park for 49 kilometers (30 miles) from his village to the point where he was found,” ZimParks said. “During this period, he survived on wild fruits and would dig a small hole along the dry river bank to access underground water to drink, a technique that is well known in drought prone areas.”
The boy has since been reunited with his family. He was taken to a local clinic for preliminary examinations and later transferred to an area hospital for further medical evaluations, according to ZimParks.
Mutsa Murombedzi, a member of the Zimbabwean Parliament for Mashonaland West province, which encompasses the Matusadona National Park, wrote in a post on X that the boy, whom she said was 8 years old, “was very frail when he was rescued” and “had to be put on [an IV] drip.”
“What saved him is the technique learnt from a young age in dry [and] drought prone areas of drawing water from a dry river bank — digging a mufuku,” Murombedzi added.
The lawmaker thanked everyone who helped find the child, including the “brave park rangers” and the “tireless” members of the local community who “beat night drums each day” hoping the boy would hear the sounds and head back in the direction of his home.
“This is a testament to the power of unity, hope, prayer and never giving up,” she wrote.
The Matusadona National Park, which covers an area of about 1,470 square kilometers (570 square miles), once “supported the highest density of lion in Africa, and was an incredible stronghold for elephant and black rhino,” according to the nonprofit African Parks.
“Yet, despite the challenges in the past,” African Parks writes on its website, “a healthy variety of mammal species still occurs within Matusadona, including lion, leopard, buffalo, zebra, elephant, hippo and an impressive variety of antelope species.”
(LONDON) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s team is working on an updated agreement between Ukraine and the United States for Ukraine to agree to give the U.S. revenue from some of Ukraine’s most valuable resources, a Ukrainian official told ABC News.
A U.S. official with knowledge of the negotiations said a new version of the deal between the two countries has been put on the table.
The document currently on the table is a work in progress after the Trump administration initially proposed Ukraine provide the U.S. government with 50% of the revenue from some of its key resources, including minerals, oil, gas and ports a week ago, according to a draft document reviewed by ABC News and a Ukrainian official familiar with the matter.
The proposal hanging between the two countries comes at a critical time in the U.S. and Ukraine’s relationship under the Trump administration and an even more critical time in the almost three-year war since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Zelenskyy’s team was presented with the initial document with almost no warning when U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent visited Kyiv on Feb. 12, prompting widespread criticism that the Trump administration was seeking to strong-arm the country into an exploitative deal, a Ukrainian official said. The purported original draft document, reviewed by ABC News, contained no mention of future security guarantees for Ukraine, suggesting the country should give up access to its resources as payback for the American aid already rendered.
That document was obtained by ABC News from a Ukrainian source.
After Zelenskyy refused to sign the initial deal, Trump escalated criticisms, calling him a “dictator” and questioning his legitimacy as Ukraine’s leader, echoing talking points of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Zelenskyy has held his ground, both thanking the U.S. for continued support and saying that he believes Trump is living in a “disinformation space.”
“I told them to show the security guarantees, and then we talk about the percentage. They said 50% and I replied NO. I can’t sell the country off. I’m just a manager. Tomorrow, the country will have another manager, so I can’t sell it. Besides, around 20% of resources are in Russia-occupied territory,” Zelenskyy said during a press conference Wednesday.
During the meeting between Trump’s Special Envoy to Ukraine, Russian Gen. Keith Kellogg and Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Thursday, the two discussed the proposal again, a Ukrainian official said. After the meeting with Kellogg, Zelenskyy’s team is now working on an updated agreement, a Ukrainian official told ABC News.
A proposed agreemen
A couple of hours before Zelenskyy met with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Kyiv on Feb. 12, a proposed agreement from the U.S. asking Ukraine to agree to give the U.S. 50% of the revenue from some of its most valuable natural resources was sent over. Zelenskyy and his team had almost no time to review the document, but they were asked to sign it during the meeting that day, a Ukrainian official told ABC News.
The official said Zelenskyy refused.
Zelenskyy was due to meet two days later with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Munich, Germany. But after Zelenskyy sent a revised proposal ahead of the meeting, Vance and Rubio threatened to cancel it, a Ukrainian official said. Zelenskyy’s team asked them to read it first, the official said, and the meeting eventually went ahead. A U.S. official familiar with the discussions denied these details.
An alleged draft document, reviewed by ABC News, of the initial proposal from the U.S. government dated Feb. 7 requests the U.S. government receive “50% of the financial value received” by the government of Ukraine from “resources of Ukraine, including: mineral resources, oil and gas resources, ports” and “other infrastructure (as agreed),” the draft document states. A U.S. official familiar with the matter said these details align with the US’s initial proposal to Ukraine.
The alleged draft document, at the top, states the U.S. “has provided significant financial and material support to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in Feb. 2022.”
“We won’t confirm or deny terms of ongoing discussions. These discussions work best between the interested parties, not through the media,” a White House official said when asked about the authenticity of the document.
Trump has since slammed Zelensky for not signing the deal, on Wednesday accusing the Ukrainian President of treating Treasury Secretary Bessent rudely during his visit, claiming without evidence that Zelensky had kept Bessent waiting because he was “sleeping.”
Trump officials on Thursday also defended the deal and said the President was “frustrated” that Zelenskyy was refusing to agree to what they called a “historic opportunity.”
“Look, President Trump is obviously very frustrated right now with President Zelenskyy. The fact that he hasn’t come to the table, that he hasn’t been willing to take this opportunity that we have offered. I think he eventually will get to that point, and I hope so very quickly.” Trump’s National Security Advisor Michael Waltz said Thursday at a White House briefing.
“There can be, in my view, nothing better, for Ukraine’s future and for their security than to have the United States invested in their prosperity long term,” Waltz said.
It was unclear what changes the Ukrainian side had proposed during their discussions with Kellogg on Thursday.
