Global Shocks of 2025: Climate Crisis, Wars, Gen Z Uprising & Trump's Return Define 2026

• 2025 ranked among the top three hottest years on record, with the 2023-2025 average likely exceeding the 1.5°C limit, highlighting accelerating climate change and urgent need for emission reduction.
• Sudan's civil war created the world's worst humanitarian crisis, displacing over 12.4 million people, causing widespread famine, malnutrition, and a collapsed health system.
• A global surge of Generation Z-led protests, digitally coordinated and emotionally charged, became a new political variable, challenging governments worldwide.
• Global economic inequality worsened, with the richest 1% capturing 20.3% of income, while AI emerged as a major disruptor, radically altering work and markets.
• Geopolitical tensions escalated with the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, a new US military doctrine, and Donald Trump's return to the White House, leading to global instability and trade fragmentation.

Why It Matters: 2025 was a year of profound global shocks, from climate and conflicts to social unrest and political shifts, setting a turbulent stage for 2026.