For several years now, we have been experiencing unusual weather patterns. Dry seasons have been too hot, while rainy days have been more sporadic. For some, winters do not come with snowfall anymore; for others, snowstorms become new hazards. The Earth’s climate has grown more unbalanced as the planet’s temperature continues to rise. This indicates an energy imbalance, which now counts as a key climate indicator, another signal of an accelerating crisis. 

Understanding the Energy Imbalance

The Earth’s energy imbalance becomes a new key climate indicator in the World Meteorological Organization’s State of Climate 2025 report. It measures how much the Earth receives energy from the Sun and the amount it radiates back into space. In a stable climate, the incoming and outgoing energy should be about the same amount.

However, the increasing concentration of greenhouse gases trapped in the atmosphere has disrupted this equilibrium. Meaning, the energy gained has been bigger than the one released. The report states that greenhouse gas concentration has been at its highest level in at least 800,000 years, especially for carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. The energy imbalance reached a new high in 2025 since first observed in 1960.  

The growing imbalance leads to the accumulation of excess energy. For decades, heat has been building up in the ocean, atmosphere, as well as on land. WMO underscores that this growth has been accelerating. 

Chains of Catastrophe

Among the planet’s surfaces, the ocean has been getting the short end of the stick of the energy imbalance. It has been absorbing around 91% of the excess energy, resulting in severe ocean heat that reached a record high in 2025 as well. 

Ocean heat undoubtedly threatens lives under the sea. In 2025, the Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest coral reef system, experienced the largest annual decline in coral cover in 39 years, with climate-change induced heat being one of the major stressors. This means marine species are losing their habitat, breeding ground, and protective shield necessary for their lives.

Furthermore, around 3% of the excess energy warms and melts ice. The world has been losing tons of its glacier sheets more rapidly over the past years, so much so that the year 2025 was declared the International Year of Glacier Preservation by the United Nations. Melting glaciers and warming oceans are the biggest drivers of sea level rise, which has also accelerated since it was measured by satellite in 1993.

Decisive Actions Required

All the indicators above, and those explored further in WMO’s report, are a stark reminder that climate change shows no sign of stopping soon. They are by no means observations made about a faraway land, but changes happening right now on the very planet we live on. Millions of people are already facing the consequences firsthand. 

Therefore, this must be a wake-up call for people in power, including those in governments, businesses, and civil society, to make systemic change today. Prioritizing just and equitable interventions in energy transition and responsible production and consumption, as well as strengthening climate and disaster management systems, are among the essential drivers to return to energy equilibrium and sustain our resilience and wellbeing.

Editor: Nazalea Kusuma

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