In addition to being the hottest year on record, 2024 was also the first calendar year in which the average global temperature was more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).
“2024 was the warmest year in global temperature records dating back to 1850. …the global average temperature of 15.10°C was 0.72°C above the 1991-2020 average, and 0.12°C above 2023, the previous warmest year ever recorded,” C3S – implemented on behalf of the European Commission by the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) – said.
This temperature corresponded to 1.60°C above an estimate of the 1850-1900 temperature considered to be pre-industrial levels. Each of the past ten years (2015-2024) has been one of the ten warmest years on record.
Misery for millions
Carlo Buontempo, director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, ECMWF, said: “All internationally produced global temperature datasets show that 2024 was the warmest year since records began in 1850.”
Samantha Burgess, Strategic Lead for Climate, ECMWF, said: “We are now teetering on the brink of exceeding the 1.5ºC level defined in the Paris Agreement and the average of the last two years is already above this level. ”
These high global temperatures, combined with record levels of atmospheric water vapor in 2024, caused unprecedented heat waves and heavy rainfall, causing misery for millions of people, C3S said.
Man-made
Human-induced climate change remains the leading cause of extreme air and sea surface temperatures; while other factors, such as the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), also contributed to the unusual temperatures observed during the year, C3S said.
In 2024, ECMWF, NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the UK Met Office, Berkeley Earth and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) made a joint effort to coordinate the release of their data, highlighting the exceptional circumstances that were developing occurred in 2024. said a C3S statement.
The monthly average temperature on Earth was more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels for eleven months per year. Going back further, all months since July 2023, except July 2024, exceeded the 1.5°C level.
New daily record high
On July 22, 2024, a new record for the daily average temperature on Earth was reached, namely 17.16°C.
2024 was the warmest year for all continental regions except Antarctica and Australasia, but also for large parts of the ocean, especially the North Atlantic, Indian Ocean and western Pacific Ocean.
In 2024 there were three record warm seasons for the corresponding time of year: Boreal Winter (December 2023-February 2024), Boreal Spring (March-May) and Boreal Summer (June-August) with temperatures of 0.78° C, 0.68°C and 0.69°C. °C respectively above the 1991-2020 average.
Every month from January to June 2024 was warmer than the corresponding month in any previous year on record. Every month from July to December, except August, was the second warmest month for the time of year after 2023. August 2024 tied with August 2023 as the warmest on record.
Heat stress
In 2024, the annual mean sea surface temperature (SST) over the extrapolar ocean reached a record high of 20.87°C, 0.51°C above the 1991–2020 average, C3S said.
In 2024, the El Nino weather event that began in 2023 ended and the transition to more neutral or La Nina conditions began.
C3S said the total amount of water vapor in the atmosphere reached a record value in 2024, about 5 percent above the 1991-2020 average – more than 1 percent higher than 2016 and 2023, the years with the previous highest and second highest values, respectively.
Extreme temperatures and high humidity contribute to increased levels of heat stress. Much of the Northern Hemisphere experienced more days than average with at least ‘strong heat stress’ in 2024, and some areas experienced more days than average with ‘extreme heat stress’.
CO2, methane levels rising
In 2024, the part of the world affected by at least ‘severe heat stress’ reached a new annual record maximum on July 10, when about 44 percent of the world was affected by ‘strong’ to ‘extreme heat stress’. This is 5 percent more of the Earth compared to the average annual maximum.
The European Weather Agency said atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane continued to rise, reaching record levels in 2024, at 422 parts per million (ppm) and 1,897 parts per billion (ppb) respectively. Carbon dioxide concentrations were 2.9 ppm higher in 2024 than in 2023, while methane concentrations were 3 ppb higher.
