Wildfires, heat waves, storms and floods struck the globe in 2025

Extreme weather — including large wildfires, record heat, rapidly intensifying storms and heavy floods — affected regions around the world in 2025, from North and South America to Europe, Asia, the Arctic and Australia. Climate change is drying out landscapes and, a 2024 study found, the frequency and intensity of wildfires have doubled in the past two decades.

In January flames overtook 60 square miles of Los Angeles neighborhoods, displaced more than 100,000 people and polluted the region with toxic chemicals. Large blazes also burned in Patagonia and across millions of acres in the Amazon basin; the United States saw major fires in Oregon, the Grand Canyon and Oklahoma; Canada experienced another record season; France had its largest wildfires in decades; outbreaks across Mediterranean countries prompted mass evacuations; Korea faced its deadliest wildfire; and in December Australians began bracing for a difficult fire season.

Extreme heat became more common and deadly, with heat waves lingering longer and annual deaths from heat having doubled in recent decades. Overnight exposure proved particularly dangerous for vulnerable people, and some countries such as Japan and Singapore adopted new heat laws.

Key Topics

World, Climate Change, Wildfires, Heat Waves, Hurricane Melissa, Typhoon Ragasa