Why read this: This article gives B2 readers a clear way into one of the biggest science stories of the year: why 2025 was so hot, even though scientists expected it to cool down. The writer keeps the original argument that warming may be speeding up, but builds it from shorter sentences and friendlier vocabulary. Students get useful practice with cause-and-effect language, with hedged predictions, and with a real-world topic they will meet often in school and in the news.
What to notice: Notice how the writer first sets up an expectation (2025 should have been cooler) and then surprises the reader with what actually happened. Look for places where the writer hedges instead of stating things as facts—words like "may", "could", "likely" and "suggests". The sulphate paragraph is the hardest passage: stop and check that you understand how cleaner air can cause more warming. Also watch the closing quote from Carlo Buontempo, which shifts the article from facts into a prediction about the future.
Skills practised: Readers practise tracking a multi-step argument across paragraphs, identifying cause and effect inside long sentences, and recognising hedged language as a sign of careful scientific reasoning. They also work on holding numbers in working memory (1.15°C, 1.44°C, 1.5°C, 2°C) and comparing them, and on reading a counter-example (the climate hiatus) without losing the main thread. Margin glosses support the most domain-specific terms, leaving cognitive room for the argument itself.
Why 2025 Was So Hot, Even Without El Niño
Scientists expected a cooler year. Instead, the planet kept heating—and the reasons say something serious about the decade ahead.
Tap any green word in the article to see its meaning.
The year 2025 should have been a slightly cooler one. Instead, it ended up as the third hottest year ever recorded. This week, the main climate-monitoring groups in Europe and America released their yearly reports, and the message was the same in each one: the Earth is warming faster than before.
All eleven of the past eleven years are the warmest since records began, and the top three spots all belong to the most recent three. The hottest of all was 2024, which lined up with a strong El Niño—a Pacific Ocean pattern that pushes temperatures upwardupward: In a direction from lower to higher; toward a higher place — 向上—and with the brightest point of the 11-year solar cycle: the sun's roughly eleven-year pattern of rising and falling activity — 「十一年太阳周期」. In 2025 that El Niño tailed off: gradually became weaker and ended — 「逐渐减弱」 and was replaced by its opposite, La Niña, which usually cools the planet down.
By every reasonablereasonable: Fair and sensible; not too expensive; acceptable in quality. — 合理的；公道的 expectationexpectation: A strong belief that something will happen or be the case. — 期望；预期, 2025 should have been clearly cooler than 2024. It was—but only slightly. Compared to other La Niña years, it was extraordinary. The last La Niña year, 2022, was 1.15°C warmer than the world's pre-industrial: from the time before the Industrial Revolution—used as the climate baseline — 「工业化前的」 average. Last year was 1.44°C warmer, according to the World Meteorological Organisation. The average warming over the past three years has sat between 1.48°C and 1.5°C—almost touching the limit set in the Paris agreement.
Many scientists are still cautiouscautious: Careful to avoid potential problems or dangers; characterised by prudence and wariness. — 谨慎的；小心翼翼的 about announcing that warming is speeding up. They remember the early 2000s, when global temperatures stayed lower than the climate models predicted. That period was nicknamednickname: To give a nickname to (a person or thing) — 给…取外号 the climate hiatus: an apparent pause in global temperature rise observed in the early 2000s — 「气候停滞期」, and at the time, some people argued that climate change had stopped. In reality, several natural cycles had simply combined to cool things brieflybriefly: For a short time; in a few words. — 短暂地；简要地 before warming continued.
Today, however, several signs point to a real accelerationacceleration: The act of accelerating, or the state of being accelerated; increase of motion or action; as opposed to retardation or deceleration — 加速. The first is the most obvious one: greenhouse-gas emissions: gases such as carbon dioxide that are released into the air and trap heat — 「温室气体排放」, especially carboncarbon: A chemical element found in all living things and in fuels such as coal and oil. — 碳 dioxidedioxide: Any oxide containing two oxygen atoms in each molecule — 二氧化物, are still rising rather than falling. The second is more surprising. A different kind of pollution—tiny sulphatesulphate: Any salt of sulfuric acid — 硫酸盐 particlesparticle: A very small piece of matter, a fragment; especially, the smallest possible part of something — 颗粒 released by ships and coal-fired power plants—is now decreasingdecrease: To make or become smaller or fewer in size, amount, or degree. — 减少；降低 because of stricterstrict: Demanding that rules are obeyed; precisely defined and not to be deviated from. — 严格的；严厉的 rules on air quality. Sulphates are dangerous for human health, so removing them is good news. But they also reflect sunlight back into space, so cleaner air actually allows more heat to reach the Earth's surface.
There is also a growing debatedebate: A formal discussion on a particular topic in which opposing arguments are put forward — 辩论；争论 about how strongly the climate reacts to extra greenhouse gases. A new study from the University of Exeter suggests this reaction may be at the higher end of what scientists thought possible. If the study is correct, global temperatures could pass 2°C by the middle of this century. That matters because climate models show the danger of tipping points: thresholds beyond which a small change triggers large, often irreversible effects — 「临界点」—sudden, hard-to-reverse changes—rises sharplysharply: In a sharp manner — 尖锐地 once warming goes beyondbeyond: On the far side of; more than; outside the limits of. — 超越；在…之外 1.5°C.
The extremes of 2025 made the year stand out further. In February, sea ice at both polespole: a long, slender, rounded piece of wood or metal, or either of the two extreme points of an axis — 杆；柱；极 dropped to its lowest level since satellitesatellite: An artificial body placed in orbit around the earth or another planet to collect information or for communication. — 卫星 measurementsmeasurement: The act of measuring; a quantity, dimension, or capacity ascertained by measuring. — 测量；尺寸 began in the late 1970s, and Antarctica had its hottest year on record. In Europe, hot and windy conditions spread wildfireswildfire: A rapidly spreading fire, especially one occurring in a wildland area — 野火 across Spain and Portugal in late summer. These fires released nearly 14 million tonnestonne: A metric unit of weight equal to 1,000 kilograms. — 公吨 of carbon—more than any year before—and added black sootsoot: Fine black or dull brown particles of amorphous carbon and tar, produced by the incomplete combustion of coal, oil etc. — 煤烟 that absorbsabsorb: To take in or soak up a substance, energy, or information. — 吸收；吸取 even more sunlight.
If the trend of the past 30 years continues, the world could cross the 1.5°C limit before the end of this decade. Carlo Buontempo, who runs Europe's Copernicus Climate Change Service, says the question is no longer whether we will pass 1.5°C, but how we will manage life beyond it. Forecastersforecaster: A person who forecasts — 预报员 already expect El Niño to return later this year, so 2026 is likely to add yet another hot year to the list.
The year 2025 should have been a slightly cooler one. Instead, it ended up as the third hottest year ever recorded. This week, the main climate-monitoring groups in Europe and America released their yearly reports, and the message was the same in each one: the Earth is warming faster than before.
All eleven of the past eleven years are the warmest since records began, and the top three spots all belong to the most recent three. The hottest of all was 2024, which lined up with a strong El Niño—a Pacific Ocean pattern that pushes temperatures upwardupward: In a direction from lower to higher; toward a higher place — 向上—and with the brightest point of the 11-year solar cycle: the sun's roughly eleven-year pattern of rising and falling activity — 「十一年太阳周期」. In 2025 that El Niño tailed off: gradually became weaker and ended — 「逐渐减弱」 and was replaced by its opposite, La Niña, which usually cools the planet down.
By every reasonablereasonable: Fair and sensible; not too expensive; acceptable in quality. — 合理的；公道的 expectationexpectation: A strong belief that something will happen or be the case. — 期望；预期, 2025 should have been clearly cooler than 2024. It was—but only slightly. Compared to other La Niña years, it was extraordinary. The last La Niña year, 2022, was 1.15°C warmer than the world's pre-industrial: from the time before the Industrial Revolution—used as the climate baseline — 「工业化前的」 average. Last year was 1.44°C warmer, according to the World Meteorological Organisation. The average warming over the past three years has sat between 1.48°C and 1.5°C—almost touching the limit set in the Paris agreement.
Many scientists are still cautiouscautious: Careful to avoid potential problems or dangers; characterised by prudence and wariness. — 谨慎的；小心翼翼的 about announcing that warming is speeding up. They remember the early 2000s, when global temperatures stayed lower than the climate models predicted. That period was nicknamednickname: To give a nickname to (a person or thing) — 给…取外号 the climate hiatus: an apparent pause in global temperature rise observed in the early 2000s — 「气候停滞期」, and at the time, some people argued that climate change had stopped. In reality, several natural cycles had simply combined to cool things brieflybriefly: For a short time; in a few words. — 短暂地；简要地 before warming continued.
Today, however, several signs point to a real accelerationacceleration: The act of accelerating, or the state of being accelerated; increase of motion or action; as opposed to retardation or deceleration — 加速. The first is the most obvious one: greenhouse-gas emissions: gases such as carbon dioxide that are released into the air and trap heat — 「温室气体排放」, especially carboncarbon: A chemical element found in all living things and in fuels such as coal and oil. — 碳 dioxidedioxide: Any oxide containing two oxygen atoms in each molecule — 二氧化物, are still rising rather than falling. The second is more surprising. A different kind of pollution—tiny sulphatesulphate: Any salt of sulfuric acid — 硫酸盐 particlesparticle: A very small piece of matter, a fragment; especially, the smallest possible part of something — 颗粒 released by ships and coal-fired power plants—is now decreasingdecrease: To make or become smaller or fewer in size, amount, or degree. — 减少；降低 because of stricterstrict: Demanding that rules are obeyed; precisely defined and not to be deviated from. — 严格的；严厉的 rules on air quality. Sulphates are dangerous for human health, so removing them is good news. But they also reflect sunlight back into space, so cleaner air actually allows more heat to reach the Earth's surface.
There is also a growing debatedebate: A formal discussion on a particular topic in which opposing arguments are put forward — 辩论；争论 about how strongly the climate reacts to extra greenhouse gases. A new study from the University of Exeter suggests this reaction may be at the higher end of what scientists thought possible. If the study is correct, global temperatures could pass 2°C by the middle of this century. That matters because climate models show the danger of tipping points: thresholds beyond which a small change triggers large, often irreversible effects — 「临界点」—sudden, hard-to-reverse changes—rises sharplysharply: In a sharp manner — 尖锐地 once warming goes beyondbeyond: On the far side of; more than; outside the limits of. — 超越；在…之外 1.5°C.
The extremes of 2025 made the year stand out further. In February, sea ice at both polespole: a long, slender, rounded piece of wood or metal, or either of the two extreme points of an axis — 杆；柱；极 dropped to its lowest level since satellitesatellite: An artificial body placed in orbit around the earth or another planet to collect information or for communication. — 卫星 measurementsmeasurement: The act of measuring; a quantity, dimension, or capacity ascertained by measuring. — 测量；尺寸 began in the late 1970s, and Antarctica had its hottest year on record. In Europe, hot and windy conditions spread wildfireswildfire: A rapidly spreading fire, especially one occurring in a wildland area — 野火 across Spain and Portugal in late summer. These fires released nearly 14 million tonnestonne: A metric unit of weight equal to 1,000 kilograms. — 公吨 of carbon—more than any year before—and added black sootsoot: Fine black or dull brown particles of amorphous carbon and tar, produced by the incomplete combustion of coal, oil etc. — 煤烟 that absorbsabsorb: To take in or soak up a substance, energy, or information. — 吸收；吸取 even more sunlight.
If the trend of the past 30 years continues, the world could cross the 1.5°C limit before the end of this decade. Carlo Buontempo, who runs Europe's Copernicus Climate Change Service, says the question is no longer whether we will pass 1.5°C, but how we will manage life beyond it. Forecastersforecaster: A person who forecasts — 预报员 already expect El Niño to return later this year, so 2026 is likely to add yet another hot year to the list.
Questions
Check your understanding
- 01
According to the article, why was 2025 expected to be a cooler year than 2024?
- 02
Reread the paragraph about sulphate particles. Why does removing them from the air cause more warming?
- 03
What is the main idea the article is building towards?
- 04
How does the writer use the example of the early-2000s climate hiatus to shape the argument of the article?
Suggested length: ~80 words
- 05
Evaluate how convincing the article's claim is that the world will pass the 1.5°C limit before the end of this decade.
Suggested length: ~80 words
Questions
Check your understanding
- 01
According to the article, why was 2025 expected to be a cooler year than 2024?
- 02
Reread the paragraph about sulphate particles. Why does removing them from the air cause more warming?
- 03
What is the main idea the article is building towards?
- 04
How does the writer use the example of the early-2000s climate hiatus to shape the argument of the article?
Suggested length: ~80 words
- 05
Evaluate how convincing the article's claim is that the world will pass the 1.5°C limit before the end of this decade.
Suggested length: ~80 words