Climate-driven extreme weather pushing states to adaptation limits: Report

ISTANBUL

The growing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events driven by climate change are pushing the adaptive capacity of states to their limits, according to a new report by the World Weather Attribution (WWA).

The 2025 WWA report found that climate change fueled severe weather events across the globe this year, disproportionately affecting vulnerable and marginalized communities. Global temperatures have continued to rise, with heat waves now significantly more intense than a decade ago, it said.

The report noted that since the adoption of the Paris Agreement, the global average temperature has increased by around 0.3 degrees Celsius. While the rise may appear modest, experts warned it has translated into an average of 11 additional days of extreme heat each year worldwide.

WWA researchers said millions of people were pushed close to the limits of human adaptation in 2025, stressing that “drastically reducing fossil fuel emissions remains the key policy” to avoid the most severe impacts of climate change.

Ruben del Campo, spokesperson for Spain’s national weather agency AEMET, described the report as “a new wake-up call from the scientific community for climate action.”

He noted that heat waves in Spain are lengthening by nearly three days per decade, in line with the global trends highlighted in the study, reported Science Media Centre Spain.

Froila M. Palmeiro, a researcher at the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change, said the report reviewed the most significant extreme weather events of 2025 and examined their links to climate change.

She stressed that every fraction of a degree of warming avoided is “a major achievement,” as it helps limit the number of extreme heat days, Spanish news broadcaster RTVE reported.

The report also underlined deep inequalities in climate impacts, pointing to higher vulnerability in parts of the Global South and gaps in climate data outside the Northern Hemisphere, which affect the accuracy of forecasts.

Anna Cabre, a climate scientist affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania, said climate impacts are felt more intensely in the Global South, where limited data and weaker infrastructure make adaptation especially challenging.

She called for urgent action to strengthen mitigation and adaptation efforts.

Spanish climatologist Ernesto Rodriguez Camino also warned that the world is already living in a “profoundly altered climate,” with clear limits to adaptation.

He emphasized the need to cut emissions while simultaneously investing in adaptation, scientific research and global equity to address the growing risks posed by extreme weather.