2025: Albuquerque's hottest year on record

Last year was the hottest on record for the Albuquerque Metro Area, according to the National Weather Service.

The average temperature this year was 60.8 degrees, nearly four degrees warmer than the climate normal, said NWS meteorologist Matt DeMaria.

Temperatures have been trending hotter in recent years, DeMaria said, which is represented in the runners up. Before this year, both 2024 and 2017 held the record for the hottest year by average at 60 degrees. 

Coming in next was 2012, which saw an average of 59.9 degrees.

This past year broke more than one record though. 

"Quite a few" more, DeMaria said. There were 16 record-breaking daytime temperatures and 19 record-breaking nighttime temperatures across 2025.

Those record-breaking days were spread throughout the seasons, although many of them happened in an unseasonably warm December, he said.

Without winter weather, skiing destinations including Ski Santa Fe said they were relying on snowmaking technology to keep skiers and snowboarders, who are still coming in droves, on the slopes. 

The lack of snow doesn't just affect outdoor recreation, it affects the entire ecosystem. A lack of snow means that, come springtime, there will be little snow melt to feed New Mexico's streams and rivers.

Though Albuquerque's Sandia Mountains don't typically accumulate a snow pack, the snow stored in New Mexico's northern peaks will affect water levels in the Rio Grande.

Despite not typically seeing snowcapped peaks, Albuquerque residents did feel the impacts of a dry winter in 2025.

In July, the Rio Grande ran dry in Albuquerque for the second time in more than 40 years, leaving cracked clay and dead fish on the riverbed where it stretched through the city. The river also ran dry in 2022 but, before that, it hadn't happened in the metro area since the 1980s. 

More stats

Overall, on 2025’s hottest days, June 16 and Aug. 8, temperatures reached 101 degrees, while on its coldest day, Jan. 21, temperatures plunged to 6 degrees.

Albuquerque was also saw less precipitation this year.

Overall precipitation was low at 6.5 inches, which includes 3.3 inches of snow fall. Typically, the Albuquerque area receives nearly 9 inches of precipitation, DeMaria said.

Due to drier conditions, Albuquerque experienced a dusty spring season marked with high winds and poor visibility, DeMaria said.

As for what the first days of the new year hold, the forecast suggests that cloudy conditions in the Middle Rio Grande Valley will clear up Saturday before returning Sunday morning. 

Gillian Barkhurst is the local government reporter for the Journal. She can be reached at gbarkhurst@abqjournal.com or on Twitter @G_Barkhurst.