Why read this: This is a very short news story about the weather in 2025. It tells students one big idea: 2025 was the third hottest year ever, even though scientists thought it would be cool. The story uses easy words and short sentences. It is a good first text for talking about climate change in English.
What to notice: Look at the numbers in the story: 2024, 2023, 2025, 1.44 degrees, 1.15 degrees, and 2022. Each number tells the reader something important. Also notice the two reasons in paragraph two (La Niña and the less bright sun) and the main reason in paragraph four (greenhouse-gas emissions). The story uses 'why' questions to help readers follow the ideas.
Skills practised: Students practise reading short, simple sentences and finding facts. They practise answering 'why' and 'how much' questions. They learn one new climate word: greenhouse-gas emissions. They also practise comparing numbers (which year was hottest? how much warmer was 2025 than 2022?).
2025 Was a Very Hot Year
Scientists thought 2025 would be cool. It was not.
Tap any green word in the article to see its meaning.
2025 was the third hottest year ever recorded. Scientists thought 2025 would be a cool year, but it was very hot. The hottest year was 2024, the second hottest was 2023, and the third hottest was 2025. The last 11 years are all the hottest years ever recorded.
Why did scientists think 2025 would be cool? There are two reasons. First, a weather pattern called La Niña makes the world cooler for a year or two. La Niña was here in 2025. Second, the sun was less bright in 2025 than in 2024. So 2025 should have been a cool year, but it was not. It was the hottest cool-pattern year ever.
How much hotter was it? In 2025, the world was 1.44 degrees warmer than the time before big factories. That is a big jump. The last La Niña year was 2022, and that year was only 1.15 degrees warmer. So 2025 was much hotter than the last cool-pattern year.
Why is the world getting hotter? The main reason is . People burn coal, oil, and gas in cars, planes, and power plants. This makes gases that trap heat in the air. These gases go into the sky every year, and the amount keeps going up.
Last year, the two poles were very hot too. In February 2025, the ice at the poles was the lowest amount ever seen. In Europe, big fires burned in Spain and Portugal. The fires sent black smoke into the air, and black smoke also makes the world hotter. Scientists think 2026 will be very hot too.
2025 was the third hottest year ever recorded. Scientists thought 2025 would be a cool year, but it was very hot. The hottest year was 2024, the second hottest was 2023, and the third hottest was 2025. The last 11 years are all the hottest years ever recorded.
Why did scientists think 2025 would be cool? There are two reasons. First, a weather pattern called La Niña makes the world cooler for a year or two. La Niña was here in 2025. Second, the sun was less bright in 2025 than in 2024. So 2025 should have been a cool year, but it was not. It was the hottest cool-pattern year ever.
How much hotter was it? In 2025, the world was 1.44 degrees warmer than the time before big factories. That is a big jump. The last La Niña year was 2022, and that year was only 1.15 degrees warmer. So 2025 was much hotter than the last cool-pattern year.
Why is the world getting hotter? The main reason is . People burn coal, oil, and gas in cars, planes, and power plants. This makes gases that trap heat in the air. These gases go into the sky every year, and the amount keeps going up.
Last year, the two poles were very hot too. In February 2025, the ice at the poles was the lowest amount ever seen. In Europe, big fires burned in Spain and Portugal. The fires sent black smoke into the air, and black smoke also makes the world hotter. Scientists think 2026 will be very hot too.
Questions
Check your understanding
- 01
What place was 2025 on the list of hottest years?
- 02
Why did scientists think 2025 would be a cool year?
- 03
What is the main reason the world is getting hotter?
- 04
Name three things from the article that show 2025 was very hot.
Suggested length: ~50 words
- 05
Describe why scientists think 2026 will also be a hot year.
Suggested length: ~50 words
Questions
Check your understanding
- 01
What place was 2025 on the list of hottest years?
- 02
Why did scientists think 2025 would be a cool year?
- 03
What is the main reason the world is getting hotter?
- 04
Name three things from the article that show 2025 was very hot.
Suggested length: ~50 words
- 05
Describe why scientists think 2026 will also be a hot year.
Suggested length: ~50 words