Is global warming making every year hotter?

Yes — Earth is getting hotter overall because of global warming, although it does not mean every single year or every single place will be hotter than the year before.

The evidence is very strong:

• The last 11 years (2015–2025) are the 11 hottest years ever recorded.
• 2024 was the hottest year on record.
• 2025 was slightly cooler than 2024, but it was still the 2nd or 3rd hottest year on record, depending on the dataset.
• The oceans are also continuing to accumulate heat, which is an important sign that this isn't simply a temporary change in air temperature.

Why isn't every year hotter than the previous one?
Because global warming is a long-term trend, while weather varies from year to year. Phenomena such as El Niño and La Niña can temporarily push global temperatures up or down. For example, La Niña helped make 2025 cooler than 2024, but the underlying warming trend continued.
Think of it like a staircase with some steps going slightly down: the overall staircase is still going upward.

And yes, humans are the main reason
Burning coal, oil and gas, along with other human activities, increases greenhouse gases such as CO₂. These gases trap additional heat in Earth's climate system. NASA says the preponderance of evidence shows that human activities are making the planet warmer.

So the simplest answer is:
🌍 Yes. The planet is warming, and the long-term trend is clearly upward. But natural climate variability means individual years can still be cooler than the year before.

ChatGPT, private window, 2026-08-22. Copied as shown; nothing edited. The highlight is ours.