Summary:
- Earth experienced its hottest year on record in 2024, surpassing the critical 1.5°C threshold above pre-industrial levels with a global average temperature of 15.1°C, marking an unprecedented increase from previous records.
- July 22, 2024, set a new daily temperature record of 17.16°C, while the year witnessed three record-warm seasons and 41 additional days of dangerous heat worldwide, leading to numerous climate disasters.
- Major climate disasters in 2024 included Hurricane Milton ($60 billion in damages), Hurricane Helene ($55 billion), and Typhoon Yagi (800+ casualties), highlighting the severe impact of rising global temperatures.
- Scientists attribute this extreme warming primarily to greenhouse gas accumulation from fossil fuel burning, with El Niño playing a secondary role, warning that immediate action is crucial to prevent future temperature records.
Earth has recorded its warmest year in 2024, marking a significant milestone as global temperatures surpassed the critical 1.5°C threshold above pre-industrial levels for the first time in a calendar year.
The European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) reported that global temperatures reached an average of 15.1°C in 2024, which is 1.6°C above pre-industrial levels and 0.12°C higher than the previous record set in 2023.
“Each year in the last decade is one of the ten warmest on record,” said Dr. Samantha Burgess, Strategic Lead for Climate at ECMWF. “These high global temperatures, coupled with record global atmospheric water vapour levels in 2024, meant unprecedented heatwaves and heavy rainfall events, causing misery for millions of people.”
A new daily temperature record was set on July 22, 2024, when the global average reached 17.16°C. The year witnessed three record-warm seasons and an average of 41 additional days of dangerous heat worldwide.
The extreme temperatures triggered devastating climate disasters globally. Hurricane Milton caused the highest damages at $60 billion, while Hurricane Helene followed with $55 billion in losses. In Asia, Typhoon Yagi claimed over 800 lives across multiple countries.
“Most of these disasters show clear traces of climate change,” noted Mariam Zachariah, a global weather attribution researcher at Imperial College London. “Extreme weather is causing incredible suffering in every corner of the world.”
The primary driver of these record temperatures is the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere from fossil fuel burning. While El Niño contributed to the warming, scientists emphasize that human-induced climate change remains the dominant factor.
Carlo Buontempo, Director of C3S, warned about the implications: “All of the internationally produced global temperature datasets show that 2024 was the hottest year since records began in 1850. The future is in our hands – swift and decisive action can still alter the trajectory of our future climate.”
While this single-year breach of the 1.5°C threshold does not constitute a violation of the Paris Agreement’s long-term target, it serves as a stark warning of the rapidly closing window for climate action. The current long-term average temperature increase stands at approximately 1.3°C above pre-industrial levels.
The unprecedented heat has already led to severe consequences worldwide, from floods in Valencia claiming 224 lives to extreme droughts in the Amazon. Scientists project that without immediate and substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, these temperature records may become increasingly common in the years ahead.
Source: apnews
