diff --git a/aws_lambda_powertools/metrics/functions.py b/aws_lambda_powertools/metrics/functions.py
index 14c68e88275..75bf0855e18 100644
--- a/aws_lambda_powertools/metrics/functions.py
+++ b/aws_lambda_powertools/metrics/functions.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
+import os
 from datetime import datetime
 
 from aws_lambda_powertools.metrics.provider.cloudwatch_emf.exceptions import (
@@ -8,6 +9,7 @@
 )
 from aws_lambda_powertools.metrics.provider.cloudwatch_emf.metric_properties import MetricResolution, MetricUnit
 from aws_lambda_powertools.shared import constants
+from aws_lambda_powertools.shared.functions import strtobool
 
 
 def extract_cloudwatch_metric_resolution_value(metric_resolutions: list, resolution: int | MetricResolution) -> int:
@@ -134,3 +136,28 @@ def convert_timestamp_to_emf_format(timestamp: int | datetime) -> int:
         # Returning zero represents the initial date of epoch time,
         # which will be skipped by Amazon CloudWatch.
         return 0
+
+
+def is_metrics_disabled() -> bool:
+    """
+    Determine if metrics should be disabled based on environment variables.
+
+    Returns:
+        bool: True if metrics are disabled, False otherwise.
+
+    Rules:
+    - If POWERTOOLS_DEV is True and POWERTOOLS_METRICS_DISABLED is True: Disable metrics
+    - If POWERTOOLS_METRICS_DISABLED is True: Disable metrics
+    - If POWERTOOLS_DEV is True and POWERTOOLS_METRICS_DISABLED is not set: Disable metrics
+    """
+
+    is_dev_mode = strtobool(os.getenv(constants.POWERTOOLS_DEV_ENV, "false"))
+    is_metrics_disabled = strtobool(os.getenv(constants.METRICS_DISABLED_ENV, "false"))
+
+    disable_conditions = [
+        is_metrics_disabled,
+        is_metrics_disabled and is_dev_mode,
+        is_dev_mode and os.getenv(constants.METRICS_DISABLED_ENV) is None,
+    ]
+
+    return any(disable_conditions)
diff --git a/aws_lambda_powertools/metrics/metrics.py b/aws_lambda_powertools/metrics/metrics.py
index 0bcf54917ed..a6493f25516 100644
--- a/aws_lambda_powertools/metrics/metrics.py
+++ b/aws_lambda_powertools/metrics/metrics.py
@@ -47,6 +47,8 @@ def lambda_handler():
         metric namespace
     POWERTOOLS_SERVICE_NAME : str
         service name used for default dimension
+    POWERTOOLS_METRICS_DISABLED: bool
+        Powertools metrics disabled (e.g. `"true", "True", "TRUE"`)
 
     Parameters
     ----------
diff --git a/aws_lambda_powertools/metrics/provider/cloudwatch_emf/cloudwatch.py b/aws_lambda_powertools/metrics/provider/cloudwatch_emf/cloudwatch.py
index 7a7db86c9c6..65c5b619f57 100644
--- a/aws_lambda_powertools/metrics/provider/cloudwatch_emf/cloudwatch.py
+++ b/aws_lambda_powertools/metrics/provider/cloudwatch_emf/cloudwatch.py
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
     convert_timestamp_to_emf_format,
     extract_cloudwatch_metric_resolution_value,
     extract_cloudwatch_metric_unit_value,
+    is_metrics_disabled,
     validate_emf_timestamp,
 )
 from aws_lambda_powertools.metrics.provider.base import BaseProvider
@@ -77,6 +78,7 @@ def __init__(
         self.default_dimensions = default_dimensions or {}
         self.namespace = resolve_env_var_choice(choice=namespace, env=os.getenv(constants.METRICS_NAMESPACE_ENV))
         self.service = resolve_env_var_choice(choice=service, env=os.getenv(constants.SERVICE_NAME_ENV))
+
         self.metadata_set = metadata_set if metadata_set is not None else {}
         self.timestamp: int | None = None
 
@@ -127,6 +129,7 @@ def add_metric(
         MetricResolutionError
             When metric resolution is not supported by CloudWatch
         """
+
         if not isinstance(value, numbers.Number):
             raise MetricValueError(f"{value} is not a valid number")
 
@@ -268,6 +271,7 @@ def add_dimension(self, name: str, value: str) -> None:
         value : str
             Dimension value
         """
+
         logger.debug(f"Adding dimension: {name}:{value}")
         if len(self.dimension_set) == MAX_DIMENSIONS:
             raise SchemaValidationError(
@@ -374,7 +378,7 @@ def flush_metrics(self, raise_on_empty_metrics: bool = False) -> None:
                 "If application metrics should never be empty, consider using 'raise_on_empty_metrics'",
                 stacklevel=2,
             )
-        else:
+        elif not is_metrics_disabled():
             logger.debug("Flushing existing metrics")
             metrics = self.serialize_metric_set()
             print(json.dumps(metrics, separators=(",", ":")))
diff --git a/aws_lambda_powertools/metrics/provider/datadog/datadog.py b/aws_lambda_powertools/metrics/provider/datadog/datadog.py
index 0442af3f86c..3e88523df38 100644
--- a/aws_lambda_powertools/metrics/provider/datadog/datadog.py
+++ b/aws_lambda_powertools/metrics/provider/datadog/datadog.py
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any
 
 from aws_lambda_powertools.metrics.exceptions import MetricValueError, SchemaValidationError
+from aws_lambda_powertools.metrics.functions import is_metrics_disabled
 from aws_lambda_powertools.metrics.provider import BaseProvider
 from aws_lambda_powertools.metrics.provider.datadog.warnings import DatadogDataValidationWarning
 from aws_lambda_powertools.shared import constants
@@ -99,7 +100,6 @@ def add_metric(
             >>>     sales='sam'
             >>> )
         """
-
         # validating metric name
         if not self._validate_datadog_metric_name(name):
             docs = "https://docs.datadoghq.com/metrics/custom_metrics/#naming-custom-metrics"
@@ -180,6 +180,7 @@ def flush_metrics(self, raise_on_empty_metrics: bool = False) -> None:
         raise_on_empty_metrics : bool, optional
             raise exception if no metrics are emitted, by default False
         """
+
         if not raise_on_empty_metrics and len(self.metric_set) == 0:
             warnings.warn(
                 "No application metrics to publish. The cold-start metric may be published if enabled. "
@@ -200,7 +201,7 @@ def flush_metrics(self, raise_on_empty_metrics: bool = False) -> None:
                         timestamp=metric_item["e"],
                         tags=metric_item["t"],
                     )
-            else:
+            elif not is_metrics_disabled():
                 # dd module not found: flush to log, this format can be recognized via datadog log forwarder
                 # https://github.com/Datadog/datadog-lambda-python/blob/main/datadog_lambda/metric.py#L77
                 for metric_item in metrics:
diff --git a/aws_lambda_powertools/shared/constants.py b/aws_lambda_powertools/shared/constants.py
index 9652e09a0b2..199f37d99bb 100644
--- a/aws_lambda_powertools/shared/constants.py
+++ b/aws_lambda_powertools/shared/constants.py
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@
 METRICS_NAMESPACE_ENV: str = "POWERTOOLS_METRICS_NAMESPACE"
 DATADOG_FLUSH_TO_LOG: str = "DD_FLUSH_TO_LOG"
 SERVICE_NAME_ENV: str = "POWERTOOLS_SERVICE_NAME"
+METRICS_DISABLED_ENV: str = "POWERTOOLS_METRICS_DISABLED"
 # If the timestamp of log event is more than 2 hours in future, the log event is skipped.
 # If the timestamp of log event is more than 14 days in past, the log event is skipped.
 # See https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonCloudWatch/latest/logs/AgentReference.html
diff --git a/docs/core/metrics.md b/docs/core/metrics.md
index 6fdcf1fa043..88f0292231d 100644
--- a/docs/core/metrics.md
+++ b/docs/core/metrics.md
@@ -34,12 +34,16 @@ If you're new to Amazon CloudWatch, there are five terminologies you must be awa
 ???+ tip
     All examples shared in this documentation are available within the [project repository](https://github.com/aws-powertools/powertools-lambda-python/tree/develop/examples){target="_blank"}.
 
-Metric has two global settings that will be used across all metrics emitted:
+Metric has three global settings that will be used across all metrics emitted:
 
-| Setting              | Description                                                                     | Environment variable           | Constructor parameter |
-| -------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------ | --------------------- |
-| **Metric namespace** | Logical container where all metrics will be placed e.g. `ServerlessAirline`     | `POWERTOOLS_METRICS_NAMESPACE` | `namespace`           |
-| **Service**          | Optionally, sets **service** metric dimension across all metrics e.g. `payment` | `POWERTOOLS_SERVICE_NAME`      | `service`             |
+| Setting                         | Description                                                                     | Environment variable           | Constructor parameter |
+| ------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------ | --------------------- |
+| **Metric namespace**            | Logical container where all metrics will be placed e.g. `ServerlessAirline`     | `POWERTOOLS_METRICS_NAMESPACE` | `namespace`           |
+| **Service**                     | Optionally, sets **service** metric dimension across all metrics e.g. `payment` | `POWERTOOLS_SERVICE_NAME`      | `service`             |
+| **Disable Powertools Metrics**  | Optionally, disables all Powertools metrics.	                                | `POWERTOOLS_METRICS_DISABLED`  | N/A                   |
+
+???+ info
+    `POWERTOOLS_METRICS_DISABLED` will not disable default metrics created by AWS services.
 
 ???+ tip
     Use your application or main service as the metric namespace to easily group all metrics.
@@ -79,7 +83,7 @@ You can create metrics using `add_metric`, and you can create dimensions for all
     CloudWatch EMF supports a max of 100 metrics per batch. Metrics utility will flush all metrics when adding the 100th metric. Subsequent metrics (101th+) will be aggregated into a new EMF object, for your convenience.
 
 ???+ warning "Warning: Do not create metrics or dimensions outside the handler"
-    Metrics or dimensions added in the global scope will only be added during cold start. Disregard if you that's the intended behavior.
+    Metrics or dimensions added in the global scope will only be added during cold start. Disregard if that's the intended behavior.
 
 ### Adding high-resolution metrics
 
diff --git a/docs/core/metrics/datadog.md b/docs/core/metrics/datadog.md
index 3cf38e1c425..c5b9fdc35b8 100644
--- a/docs/core/metrics/datadog.md
+++ b/docs/core/metrics/datadog.md
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ stateDiagram-v2
     DatadogExtension --> Datadog: async
 
     state LambdaExtension {
-        DatadogExtension 
+        DatadogExtension
     }
 
 ```
@@ -174,10 +174,14 @@ This has the advantage of keeping cold start metric separate from your applicati
 
 You can use any of the following environment variables to configure `DatadogMetrics`:
 
-| Setting              | Description                                                                      | Environment variable           | Constructor parameter |
-| -------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------ | --------------------- |
-| **Metric namespace** | Logical container where all metrics will be placed e.g. `ServerlessAirline`      | `POWERTOOLS_METRICS_NAMESPACE` | `namespace`           |
-| **Flush to log**     | Use this when you want to flush metrics to be exported through Datadog Forwarder | `DD_FLUSH_TO_LOG`              | `flush_to_log`        |
+| Setting                        | Description                                                                      | Environment variable           | Constructor parameter |
+| ------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------ | --------------------- |
+| **Metric namespace**           | Logical container where all metrics will be placed e.g. `ServerlessAirline`      | `POWERTOOLS_METRICS_NAMESPACE` | `namespace`           |
+| **Flush to log**               | Use this when you want to flush metrics to be exported through Datadog Forwarder | `DD_FLUSH_TO_LOG`              | `flush_to_log`        |
+| **Disable Powertools Metrics** | Optionally, disables all Powertools metrics.	                                    | `POWERTOOLS_METRICS_DISABLED`  | N/A                   |
+
+???+ info
+    `POWERTOOLS_METRICS_DISABLED` will not disable default metrics created by AWS services.
 
 ## Advanced
 
diff --git a/docs/index.md b/docs/index.md
index f2155db96af..4f5c165f287 100644
--- a/docs/index.md
+++ b/docs/index.md
@@ -432,6 +432,7 @@ When `POWERTOOLS_DEV` is set to a truthy value (`1`, `true`), it'll have the fol
 | __Logger__        | Increase JSON indentation to 4. This will ease local debugging when running functions locally under emulators or direct calls while not affecting unit tests. <br><br> However, Amazon CloudWatch Logs view will degrade as each new line is treated as a new message. |
 | __Event Handler__ | Enable full traceback errors in the response, indent request/responses, and CORS in dev mode (`*`).                                                                                                                                                                    |
 | __Tracer__        | Future-proof safety to disables tracing operations in non-Lambda environments. This already happens automatically in the Tracer utility.                                                                                                                               |
+| __Metrics__      | Disables Powertools metrics emission by default. <br><br> However, this can be overridden by explicitly setting POWERTOOLS_METRICS_DISABLED=false, which takes precedence over the dev mode setting.                                                                                                                               |
 
 ## Debug mode
 
diff --git a/tests/functional/metrics/datadog/test_metrics_datadog.py b/tests/functional/metrics/datadog/test_metrics_datadog.py
index 2626b8755c6..631518287a0 100644
--- a/tests/functional/metrics/datadog/test_metrics_datadog.py
+++ b/tests/functional/metrics/datadog/test_metrics_datadog.py
@@ -334,3 +334,163 @@ def test_namespace_env_var(monkeypatch):
 
     # THEN namespace should match the explicitly passed variable and not the env var
     assert output[0]["m"] == f"{env_namespace}.item_sold"
+
+
+def test_metrics_disabled_with_env_var(monkeypatch, capsys):
+    # GIVEN environment variable is set to disable metrics
+    monkeypatch.setenv("POWERTOOLS_METRICS_DISABLED", "true")
+
+    # WHEN metrics is initialized and adding metrics
+    metrics = DatadogMetrics()
+    metrics.add_metric(name="test_metric", value=1)
+    metrics.flush_metrics()
+
+    # THEN no metrics should have been recorded
+    captured = capsys.readouterr()
+    assert not captured.out
+
+
+def test_metrics_disabled_persists_after_flush(monkeypatch, capsys):
+    # GIVEN environment variable is set to disable metrics
+    monkeypatch.setenv("POWERTOOLS_METRICS_DISABLED", "true")
+    metrics = DatadogMetrics()
+
+    # WHEN multiple operations are performed with flush in between
+    metrics.add_metric(name="metric1", value=1)
+    metrics.flush_metrics()
+
+    # THEN first flush should not emit any metrics
+    captured = capsys.readouterr()
+    assert not captured.out
+
+    # WHEN adding and flushing more metrics
+    metrics.add_metric(name="metric2", value=2)
+    metrics.flush_metrics()
+
+    # THEN second flush should also not emit any metrics
+    captured = capsys.readouterr()
+    assert not captured.out
+
+
+def test_metrics_disabled_with_namespace(monkeypatch, capsys):
+    # GIVEN environment variable is set to disable metrics
+    monkeypatch.setenv("POWERTOOLS_METRICS_DISABLED", "true")
+
+    # WHEN metrics is initialized with namespace and service
+    metrics = DatadogMetrics(namespace="test_namespace")
+    metrics.add_metric(name="test_metric", value=1)
+    metrics.flush_metrics()
+
+    # THEN no metrics should have been recorded
+    captured = capsys.readouterr()
+    assert not captured.out
+
+
+def test_metrics_disabled_with_dev_mode_true(monkeypatch, capsys):
+    # GIVEN dev mode is enabled
+    monkeypatch.setenv("POWERTOOLS_DEV", "true")
+
+    # WHEN metrics is initialized
+    metrics = DatadogMetrics(namespace="test")
+    metrics.add_metric(name="test_metric", value=1)
+    metrics.flush_metrics()
+
+    # THEN no metrics should have been recorded
+    captured = capsys.readouterr()
+    assert not captured.out
+
+
+def test_metrics_enabled_with_env_var_false(monkeypatch, capsys):
+    # GIVEN environment variable is set to enable metrics
+    monkeypatch.setenv("POWERTOOLS_METRICS_DISABLED", "false")
+
+    # WHEN metrics is initialized with namespace and metrics added
+    metrics = DatadogMetrics(namespace="test")
+    metrics.add_metric(name="test_metric", value=1)
+    metrics.flush_metrics()
+
+    # THEN Datadog metrics should be written to stdout
+    output = capsys.readouterr().out
+    metrics_output = json.loads(output)
+
+    assert metrics_output
+
+
+def test_metrics_enabled_with_env_var_not_set(monkeypatch, capsys):
+    # GIVEN environment variable is not set
+    monkeypatch.delenv("POWERTOOLS_METRICS_DISABLED", raising=False)
+
+    # WHEN metrics is initialized with namespace and metrics added
+    metrics = DatadogMetrics(namespace="test")
+    metrics.add_metric(name="test_metric", value=1)
+    metrics.flush_metrics()
+
+    # THEN metrics should be written to stdout
+    output = capsys.readouterr().out
+    metrics_output = json.loads(output)
+
+    assert "test.test_metric" in metrics_output["m"]
+
+
+def test_metrics_enabled_with_dev_mode_false(monkeypatch, capsys):
+    # GIVEN dev mode is disabled
+    monkeypatch.setenv("POWERTOOLS_DEV", "false")
+
+    # WHEN metrics is initialized
+    metrics = DatadogMetrics(namespace="test")
+    metrics.add_metric(name="test_metric", value=1)
+    metrics.flush_metrics()
+
+    # THEN metrics should be written to stdout
+    output = capsys.readouterr().out
+    metrics_output = json.loads(output)
+    assert metrics_output
+
+
+def test_metrics_disabled_dev_mode_overrides_metrics_disabled(monkeypatch, capsys):
+    # GIVEN dev mode is enabled but metrics disabled is false
+    monkeypatch.setenv("POWERTOOLS_DEV", "true")
+    monkeypatch.setenv("POWERTOOLS_METRICS_DISABLED", "false")
+
+    # WHEN metrics is initialized
+    metrics = DatadogMetrics(namespace="test")
+    metrics.add_metric(name="test_metric", value=1)
+    metrics.flush_metrics()
+
+    # THEN metrics should be written to stdout since POWERTOOLS_METRICS_DISABLED is false
+    output = capsys.readouterr().out
+    assert output  # First verify we have output
+    metrics_output = json.loads(output)
+    assert metrics_output  # Then verify it's valid JSON
+    assert "test.test_metric" in metrics_output["m"]  # Verify the metric is present
+
+
+def test_metrics_enabled_with_both_false(monkeypatch, capsys):
+    # GIVEN both dev mode and metrics disabled are false
+    monkeypatch.setenv("POWERTOOLS_DEV", "false")
+    monkeypatch.setenv("POWERTOOLS_METRICS_DISABLED", "false")
+
+    # WHEN metrics is initialized
+    metrics = DatadogMetrics(namespace="test")
+    metrics.add_metric(name="test_metric", value=1)
+    metrics.flush_metrics()
+
+    # THEN metrics should be written to stdout
+    output = capsys.readouterr().out
+    metrics_output = json.loads(output)
+    assert metrics_output
+
+
+def test_metrics_disabled_with_dev_mode_false_and_metrics_disabled_true(monkeypatch, capsys):
+    # GIVEN dev mode is false but metrics disabled is true
+    monkeypatch.setenv("POWERTOOLS_DEV", "false")
+    monkeypatch.setenv("POWERTOOLS_METRICS_DISABLED", "true")
+
+    # WHEN metrics is initialized
+    metrics = DatadogMetrics(namespace="test")
+    metrics.add_metric(name="test_metric", value=1)
+    metrics.flush_metrics()
+
+    # THEN no metrics should have been recorded
+    captured = capsys.readouterr()
+    assert not captured.out
diff --git a/tests/functional/metrics/required_dependencies/test_metrics_cloudwatch_emf.py b/tests/functional/metrics/required_dependencies/test_metrics_cloudwatch_emf.py
index 5633d573a54..29418c42bcf 100644
--- a/tests/functional/metrics/required_dependencies/test_metrics_cloudwatch_emf.py
+++ b/tests/functional/metrics/required_dependencies/test_metrics_cloudwatch_emf.py
@@ -1329,3 +1329,160 @@ def lambda_handler(evt, ctx):
             "This metric doesn't meet the requirements and will be skipped by Amazon CloudWatch. "
             "Ensure the timestamp is within 14 days past or 2 hours future."
         )
+
+
+def test_metrics_disabled_with_env_var(monkeypatch, namespace, capsys):
+    # GIVEN environment variable is set to disable metrics
+    monkeypatch.setenv("POWERTOOLS_METRICS_DISABLED", "true")
+
+    # WHEN metrics is initialized and adding metrics
+    metrics = Metrics(namespace=namespace)
+    metrics.add_metric(name="test_metric", unit="Count", value=1)
+    metrics.flush_metrics()
+
+    # THEN no Powertools metrics should be sent to CloudWatch
+    output = capsys.readouterr()
+    assert not output.out
+
+
+def test_metrics_disabled_persists_after_flush(monkeypatch, capsys, namespace):
+    # GIVEN environment variable is set to disable metrics
+    monkeypatch.setenv("POWERTOOLS_METRICS_DISABLED", "true")
+    metrics = Metrics(namespace=namespace)
+
+    # WHEN multiple operations are performed with flush in between
+    metrics.add_metric(name="metric1", unit="Count", value=1)
+    metrics.flush_metrics()
+
+    # THEN first flush should not emit any metrics
+    captured = capsys.readouterr()
+    assert not captured.out
+
+    # WHEN adding and flushing more metrics
+    metrics.add_metric(name="metric2", unit="Count", value=2)
+    metrics.flush_metrics()
+
+    # THEN second flush should also not emit any metrics
+    captured = capsys.readouterr()
+    assert not captured.out
+
+
+def test_metrics_disabled_with_namespace_and_service(monkeypatch, capsys):
+    # GIVEN environment variable is set to disable metrics
+    monkeypatch.setenv("POWERTOOLS_METRICS_DISABLED", "true")
+
+    # WHEN metrics is initialized with namespace and service
+    metrics = Metrics(namespace="test_namespace", service="test_service")
+    metrics.add_metric(name="test_metric", unit="Count", value=1)
+    metrics.flush_metrics()
+
+    # THEN no metrics should have been recorded
+    captured = capsys.readouterr()
+    assert not captured.out
+
+
+def test_metrics_enabled_with_env_var_false(monkeypatch, capsys):
+    # GIVEN environment variable is set to enable metrics
+    monkeypatch.setenv("POWERTOOLS_METRICS_DISABLED", "false")
+
+    # WHEN metrics is initialized with namespace and metrics added
+    metrics = Metrics(namespace="test")
+    metrics.add_metric(name="test_metric", unit="Count", value=1)
+    metrics.flush_metrics()
+
+    # THEN metrics should be written to stdout
+    output = capsys.readouterr().out
+    metrics_output = json.loads(output)
+
+    assert "test_metric" in metrics_output
+    assert metrics_output["test_metric"] == [1.0]
+    assert metrics_output["_aws"]["CloudWatchMetrics"][0]["Namespace"] == "test"
+    assert metrics_output["_aws"]["CloudWatchMetrics"][0]["Metrics"][0]["Name"] == "test_metric"
+
+
+def test_metrics_enabled_with_env_var_not_set(monkeypatch, capsys):
+    # GIVEN environment variable is not set
+    monkeypatch.delenv("POWERTOOLS_METRICS_DISABLED", raising=False)
+
+    # WHEN metrics is initialized with namespace and metrics added
+    metrics = Metrics(namespace="test")
+    metrics.add_metric(name="test_metric", unit="Count", value=1)
+    metrics.flush_metrics()
+
+    # THEN metrics should be written to stdout
+    output = capsys.readouterr().out
+    metrics_output = json.loads(output)
+
+    assert "test_metric" in metrics_output
+    assert metrics_output["test_metric"] == [1.0]
+    assert metrics_output["_aws"]["CloudWatchMetrics"][0]["Namespace"] == "test"
+    assert metrics_output["_aws"]["CloudWatchMetrics"][0]["Metrics"][0]["Name"] == "test_metric"
+
+
+def test_metrics_disabled_with_dev_mode(monkeypatch, namespace, capsys):
+    # GIVEN environment variable is set to disable metrics
+    monkeypatch.setenv("POWERTOOLS_DEV", "true")
+
+    # WHEN metrics is initialized and adding metrics
+    metrics = Metrics(namespace=namespace)
+    metrics.add_metric(name="test_metric", unit="Count", value=1)
+
+    # AND flushing metrics
+    metrics.flush_metrics()
+
+    # THEN no metrics should have been recorded
+    captured = capsys.readouterr()
+    assert not captured.out
+
+
+def test_metrics_enabled_with_dev_mode_false(monkeypatch, capsys):
+    # GIVEN environment variable is set to enable metrics
+    monkeypatch.setenv("POWERTOOLS_DEV", "false")
+
+    # WHEN metrics is initialized with namespace and metrics added
+    metrics = Metrics(namespace="test")
+    metrics.add_metric(name="test_metric", unit="Count", value=1)
+    metrics.flush_metrics()
+
+    # THEN metrics should be written to stdout
+    output = capsys.readouterr().out
+    metrics_output = json.loads(output)
+
+    assert "test_metric" in metrics_output
+    assert metrics_output["test_metric"] == [1.0]
+    assert metrics_output["_aws"]["CloudWatchMetrics"][0]["Namespace"] == "test"
+    assert metrics_output["_aws"]["CloudWatchMetrics"][0]["Metrics"][0]["Name"] == "test_metric"
+
+
+def test_metrics_dev_mode_does_not_override_metrics_disabled(monkeypatch, capsys):
+    # GIVEN dev mode is enabled but metrics disabled is explicitly false
+    monkeypatch.setenv("POWERTOOLS_DEV", "true")
+    monkeypatch.setenv("POWERTOOLS_METRICS_DISABLED", "false")
+
+    # WHEN metrics is initialized
+    metrics = Metrics(namespace="test")
+    metrics.add_metric(name="test_metric", value=1, unit="Count")
+    metrics.flush_metrics()
+
+    # THEN metrics should be written to stdout since POWERTOOLS_METRICS_DISABLED is false
+    output = capsys.readouterr().out
+    assert output  # First verify we have output
+    metrics_output = json.loads(output)
+    assert metrics_output
+    assert "_aws" in metrics_output
+    assert any(metric["Name"] == "test_metric" for metric in metrics_output["_aws"]["CloudWatchMetrics"][0]["Metrics"])
+
+
+def test_metrics_disabled_with_dev_mode_false_and_metrics_disabled_true(monkeypatch, capsys):
+    # GIVEN dev mode is false but metrics disabled is true
+    monkeypatch.setenv("POWERTOOLS_DEV", "false")
+    monkeypatch.setenv("POWERTOOLS_METRICS_DISABLED", "true")
+
+    # WHEN metrics is initialized
+    metrics = Metrics(namespace="test")
+    metrics.add_metric(name="test_metric", value=1, unit="Count")
+    metrics.flush_metrics()
+
+    # THEN no metrics should have been recorded
+    captured = capsys.readouterr()
+    assert not captured.out