The past decade has been in the top 10 warmest years ever. 2024 has been declared the hottest year on record Climate and Environment
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has confirmed that 2024 has been the warmest year on record, based on six international data sets. The past decade has been in the top 10 warmest years ever, with a string of temperature records.
The average global surface temperature in 2024 was 1.55 degrees Celsius above the 1850-1900 average, with a margin of error of 0.13 degrees, according to a consolidated WMO analysis. That means the world is likely to have experienced its first calendar year when the average annual temperature was more than 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels.
Back on track
“Today’s analysis from the World Meteorological Organization once again proves that global warming is a harsh reality,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
There is always a margin of error in temperature estimates. All six data sets agree that 2024 was the warmest year on record, although not all show a temperature increase of more than 1.5 degrees Celsius due to differences in methodologies.
“Exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius in individual years does not mean the long-term goal is lost. It means we need to work even harder to get back on track. Record temperatures in 2024 require groundbreaking climate action in 2025. We still have a chance to avoid the worst of the climate emergency, but leaders must act – and act now,” the UN chief added.
Record Ocean Temperatures
A separate study published in the journal Advances in Atmospheric Sciences showed the key role of ocean warming in 2024. The ocean was also the warmest on record, both at the surface and at depths of up to 2,000 meters.
About 90 percent of the excess heat accumulates in the ocean, making it an important indicator of climate change. Between 2023 and 2024, the heat content of the upper 2,000 meters of the ocean increased by 16 zettajoules (10^21 joules), which is 140 times the world’s electricity production in 2023, according to the study.
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WMO will provide a full report on key climate change indicators, including greenhouse gases, surface temperatures, ocean heat content, sea level rise, glacier retreat and sea ice extent, in its State of the Global Climate report, to be published in March 2025. The report will also include data on natural disasters.
The Paris Agreement Goal
Guterres called on governments to submit new national climate plans this year to limit the long-term global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius and help the most vulnerable communities cope with the devastating impacts of climate change.
Exceeding the 1.5 degree Celsius mark in one or more individual years does not mean that the goal of “holding the increase in the average global temperature to well below 2 degrees Celsius and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius” above pre-industrial levels, as set out in the Paris Agreement, can no longer be achieved. The goal applies to long periods, typically decades or longer, although the document does not provide a clear definition, the WMO notes.
Short-term temperature peaks within the long-term warming could be caused by natural phenomena, such as the El Niño phenomenon that lasted from mid-2023 to May 2024.
According to a preliminary assessment by an international team of experts, long-term global warming as of 2024 has reached about 1.3 degrees Celsius compared to the period 1850-1900.