Second-warmest year on record, climate scientist James Hansen says, with record heat expeccted in 2026

By Guy Page

The NASA scientist credited with sounding the global warming alarm reports today that the globe got cooler this year.

In his Climate Uncensored Substack column, James Hansen summarized the findings of his most recent study on global climate change:

‘Global temperature in 2025 declined 0.1°C from its El Nino-spurred maximum in 2024, making 2025 the second warmest year. The 2023-2025 mean is +1.5°C relative to 1880-1920. The 12-month running-mean temperature should decline for the next few months, reaching a minimum about +1.4°C.”

But Hansen – Director of Climate Science, Awareness and Solutions at Columbia University and former Director of NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies – said 2025 is just an El-Nino driven lull in the climate storm, and that the global temperature is still predicted to rise: 

“Later in 2026, we expect the 12-month running-mean temperature to begin to rise, as dynamical models show development of an El Nino. We project a global temperature record of +1.7°C in 2027, which will provide further confirmation of the recent global warming acceleration.”

Telecom company donates to food pantries – VTel, a Springfield-based telecom company, donated $5,000 this December to 10 local food pantries across southern Vermont, supporting community food programs during the busy holiday season. The donation was distributed evenly among 10 organizations, with each food pantry receiving $500.

 December’s recipients include:

• Black River Good Neighbor Services (Ludlow)
• Chester-Andover Family Center
• Danby Town Office Food Bank
• Grafton Community Church Food Pantry
• Hartland Community Food Shelf
• Our Place Community Food Center (Rockingham)
• Pawlet Community Church Food Pantry
• Springfield Family Center
• Wallingford Town Hall Food Cupboard
• Woodstock Community Food Shelf

The donation follows the company’s annual free Thanksgiving dinner event, which served nearly 800 seniors in Springfield and Pawlet.

VTel is a small, family-owned telecommunications company located in Springfield, Vermont which delivers residential, small business and enterprise consumers with world-class fiber-optic Internet, telephone and television services across 14 rural Vermont villages. Additionally, VTel’s sister company, VTel Wireless, offers 4G LTE and VoLTE Internet and mobile voice solutions throughout the state of Vermont, eastern New York and Western New Hampshire. 

Since operations started in 1890, VTel’s network has grown to include over a 1,400-mile optical fiber network spanning from Vermont to New York City, to Boston and Montréal, serving some of the most intensive data users and research universities in the northeast.

Fishing, hunting license gifts? Vermont 2026 hunting, trapping, and fishing licenses, as well as the 2026 lawbooks for these activities, are now available on the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department’s website and wherever licenses are sold.

 “License sales have helped pay for some of Vermont’s greatest conservation successes,” said Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Jason Batchelder, “from managing habitat for game species like the white-tailed deer and black bear to protecting habitat for nongame species like bald eagles and common loons.”

With ice fishing opening around the state as soon as cold temperatures arrive in January, Vermonters are encouraged to pick up their 2026 licenses at their earliest convenience.  Existing five year, permanent or lifetime licenses can be updated online on January 1.

License buyers can also easily add a $15 Habitat Stamp to their purchase to further support habitat conservation in Vermont.