Global Risks Report 2025

Environmental risks dominate the longer-term outlook, according to the 20^th edition of the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report, released in January 2025. Extreme weather events, biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse are critical changes to Earth systems and natural resources shortages leading the ten-year risk rankings. 

The fifth environmental risk in the top ten is pollution, which is also perceived as a leading risk in the short term. Its sixth-place ranking in the short term reflects a growing recognition of the serious health and ecosystem impacts of a wide range of pollutants across air, water and land. Overall, extreme weather events were identified prominently as immediate, short-term and long-term risks.

State-based armed conflict is identified as the most pressing immediate global risk for 2025, with nearly one-quarter of respondents ranking it as the most severe concern for the year ahead.

Misinformation and disinformation remain top short-term risks for the second consecutive year, underlining their persistent threat to societal cohesion and governance by eroding trust and exac-erbating divisions within and between nations. Other leading short-term risks include extreme weather events, societal polarisation, cyber-espionage and warfare.

The report, which draws on the views of over 900 global risks experts, policy-makers and industry leaders surveyed in September and October 2024, paints a stark picture of the decade ahead. Respondents are far less optimistic about the outlook for the world over the longer term than the short term. Nearly two-thirds of respondents anticipate a turbulent or stormy global landscape by 2035, driven in particular by intensifying environmental, technological and societal challenges.

(WEF/ile)

Read more and download the report on the WEF website