Earth has reached its hottest temperature of the past 125,000 years, and its "vital signs" are being pushed to the brink, the 2025 State of the Climate Report has warned.

Record amounts of tree cover lost to fire, fossil fuel consumption, and ocean heat were all recorded, while in 2024 the Earth's average annual temperature was more than 1.5 degrees warmer than pre-industrial levels.

About 125,000 years ago, Neanderthals still thrived, while early homo sapiens were just beginning to move out of Africa - and megafauna like woolly mammoths and giant wombats still roamed the world.

But report co-author, Professor Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick of the ARC Centre of Excellence for 21st Century Weather and the Australian National University, insists that it's not time to give up.

With many glo

See Full Page