On January 14, 2026, NASA quietly released its latest benchmark annual report on global surface temperatures—a report that, despite documenting record-breaking heat in 2025, made no mention of climate change. This omission marks a sharp and controversial departure from the agency’s previous communications, which under President Joe Biden’s administration had directly linked rising temperatures to human activities and detailed the resulting intensification of extreme weather events.
According to NASA’s new analysis, 2025 was, by a razor-thin margin, slightly warmer than 2023, effectively tying as the second-hottest year ever recorded, trailing only 2024. The agency reported that the average global surface temperature in 2025 was 2.14 degrees Fahrenheit (1.19 degrees Celsius) above the 1951–1980 average. These findings were based on data collected from more than 25,000 meteorological stations around the world, as well as ship- and buoy-based instruments measuring sea surface temperatures and Antarctic research stations. NASA noted that the data had been meticulously analyzed and corrected for changes in the distribution of temperature stations and for urban heating effects, which can otherwise skew results.
Yet, for many scientists and observers, the numbers weren’t the most striking part of this year’s release. Instead, it was what was left unsaid. The six-paragraph statement, stripped of graphics, videos, and quotes from agency leaders, stood in stark contrast to last year’s comprehensive communications. In 2024, NASA’s report had stated plainly, “This global warming has been caused by human activities” and had warned that it was fueling “heat waves, wildfires, intense rainfall and coastal flooding.”
This year’s pared-down approach aligns with the Trump administration’s well-documented skepticism—some would say denial—of the scientific consensus on climate change. President Donald Trump has repeatedly questioned the reality of global warming and the role of human activity in driving it, and his administration has sought to minimize or eliminate references to climate change across federal agencies. NASA’s decision to omit any mention of climate change or its causes from the 2025 temperature report appears to be a direct reflection of this policy shift.
In response to questions about the change in tone, NASA offered a terse explanation: “The press release and publicly available data provide the official agency analysis.” For many, that statement did little to quell concerns about political interference in scientific communication.
The muted messaging has drawn sharp criticism from climate scientists and environmental advocates. University of Pennsylvania climatologist Michael Mann, speaking to AFP, did not mince words: “The US government is now, like Russia and Saudi Arabia, a petrostate under Trump and Republican rule, and the actions of all of its agencies and departments can be understood in terms of the agenda of the polluters that are running the show. It is therefore entirely unsurprising that NASA administrators are attempting to bury findings of its own agency that conflict with its climate denial agenda.”
The shift at NASA is not an isolated incident. Zeke Hausfather, a research scientist at Berkeley Earth, told AFP, “Pretty much all federal scientists working on climate in the US have had to self-censor and leave out reference to human influences on climate change, unfortunately. Thankfully much of the underlying science is still occurring, even if they cannot talk about it.” Hausfather’s comments point to a broader climate of caution and self-censorship among federal scientists, who, according to multiple reports, have been pressured to avoid explicit discussion of the links between human activity and global warming.
The consequences of this change in messaging extend beyond bureaucratic language games. Last year’s NASA report had not only quantified the planet’s warming but also linked it directly to a cascade of real-world impacts: more frequent and severe heat waves, raging wildfires, record-breaking rainfall, and devastating coastal flooding. These are not abstract threats but lived realities for millions of people around the world, from California’s parched landscapes to the inundated coasts of Southeast Asia.
Other major scientific agencies have not shied away from the issue. The European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service and the United States’ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), both of which use slightly different methodologies and modeling, also found that 2025 was among the hottest years on record. According to their analyses, 2025 ranked as the third-hottest year globally. These agencies continue to highlight the role of greenhouse gas emissions and human activity in driving the planet’s feverish temperatures.
For many in the scientific community, the suppression of climate change language in official U.S. communications is a troubling sign of the times. It raises questions about the integrity of science under political pressure and the ability of government agencies to convey urgent realities to the public. After all, if the world’s leading space agency cannot—or will not—speak openly about the causes and consequences of record-breaking heat, what hope is there for the broader public conversation?
Still, as Hausfather noted, “much of the underlying science is still occurring, even if they cannot talk about it.” The data collection, the modeling, the painstaking corrections for urban heat and station distribution—they all continue. Scientists within NASA and across the federal government are still tracking the numbers, even if the story those numbers tell is being left largely untold in official statements.
Some observers draw parallels to previous eras in U.S. history, when scientific findings on issues like tobacco, air pollution, or ozone depletion were downplayed or suppressed by political and corporate interests. In each case, the truth eventually came out—often too late to prevent significant harm.
Meanwhile, global temperatures continue their relentless climb. The world’s major scientific agencies are in broad agreement that the planet is warming at an unprecedented pace, driven primarily by the burning of fossil fuels. The consequences—more extreme weather, rising seas, and ecosystem disruption—are already being felt and are projected to worsen without significant action.
For now, the numbers speak for themselves, even if the official words do not. NASA’s own data confirm that 2025 was one of the hottest years in recorded history. Whether or not the agency says the “c-word,” the reality of a warming world is becoming harder to ignore. The question is whether the silence in Washington will slow the world’s response—or simply delay the inevitable reckoning with the facts.
