Climate change in 2025: An era of record heat and rising disasters
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Dear reader, Hello and welcome to the first edition of 2025 of Climate Change And You. It’s been two months since Sayantan and I started the newsletter, and it has been a busy time in terms of climate news.
2024 did not cover itself in glory when it comes to meaningful climate action. Meanwhile, the global climate became more perilous and unpredictable. As of writing this newsletter, the first big climate disaster is unfolding in California.
The Los Angeles wildfires have burnt tens of thousands of acres of forests and neighbourhoods, in the Pacific Palisades and the famous coast of Malibu. The city of LA is itself threatened, as well as famous landmarks like the Hollywood Hills. A combination of the hottest summer in California’s history, a dry rainy season and a record high Santa Ana winds have caused a crisis of historic proportions.
This is a classic case of what climate scientists call a “compound climate disaster", where multiple climate change impacts combine to create a mega disaster. In light of such persistent and increasing global disasters, what do we have to look forward to in 2025? One thing that’s for certain is that this will be an important year for climate politics, which will in turn affect international climate diplomacy and, ultimately, climate action. The first big event in climate politics will be climate change denier Donald Trump assuming the US presidency on 20 January.
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