For Americans, news of a record warm January might seem odd given how cold it was. But the U.S. is just a tiny fraction of the planet's surface, and "a much larger area of the planet’s surface was much, much warmer than average,” Burgess said.

The world warmed to yet another monthly heat record in January, despite an abnormally chilly United States, a cooling La Nina and predictions of a slightly less hot 2025, according to the European climate service Copernicus.