- Data reveals that 75% of days in 2024 experienced global average surface air temperatures exceeding the 1.5-degree Celsius mark, with the highest monthly averages recorded between January to April and October to December, ranging from 1.58 to 1.78 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
As the world grapples with the realities of climate change, 2024 has emerged as a pivotal year, a second record breaking year in history, following the unprecedented warmth of 2023. Global temperatures soared to an alarming average, exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels—a critical threshold established by the Paris Agreement to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
If immediate and substantial action is not taken, a similar trajectory is anticipated for 2025. The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) has highlighted that 2024 set multiple records for both air and sea surface temperatures, leading to a cascade of extreme weather events, including catastrophic floods, relentless heatwaves, and devastating wildfires.
The data reveals that 75% of days in 2024 experienced global average surface air temperatures exceeding the 1.5-degree Celsius mark, with the highest monthly averages recorded between January to April and October to December, ranging from 1.58 to 1.78 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
Remarkably, 2024 was the warmest year across nearly all continental regions, with the exception of Australasia and Antarctica. Contributing factors to this dramatic increase in global temperatures include warming in tropical oceans and northern mid-latitude land areas, followed closely by tropical land areas and both northern and southern mid-latitude oceans.
The impact of the El Niño phenomenon further exacerbated these conditions, fueled by record high temperatures in the tropical Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Historically, the trend of global warming has averaged an increase of approximately 0.2 degrees Celsius per decade since the 1970s, underscored by several strong El Niño events that have produced consecutive warmest years on record, with 2023 and 2024 leading the pack.
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Looking back, the only years that surpassed the current warmth occurred between 1875 and 1878, during the Great Drought, which led to the tragic loss of an estimated 50 million lives across India, China, and parts of Africa and South America.
The current situation, however, is marked by the accelerating pace of human-induced climate change and an unusual phase of oceanic variability, as noted by the C3S. For most of 2024, the globe faced multiple climate disasters: flooding due to heavy precipitation and atmospheric rivers, extreme heat that scorched regions from Southeastern Europe to North Africa, and drought conditions impacting vast areas.
The combination of monsoon rainfall, large low-pressure systems, and tropical cyclones contributed to the flooding, while severe heatwaves gripped regions across the Americas, Asia, southern Africa, and Australia.
