Quick Summary:
• The United Nations confirmed 2024 was the hottest year on record, with global temperatures hitting 1.55°C above pre-industrial levels.
• Ocean temperatures hit unprecedented highs, storing about 90% of the planet’s excess heat and driving stronger storms, sea level rise, and marine ecosystem collapse.
• WMO experts warned that overshooting the 1.5°C threshold means worsening extreme weather, including deadly floods, wildfires, and hurricanes across the globe.
• Data showed that over 44% of Earth experienced “strong” to “extreme” heat stress on July 10, the most extensive heat exposure ever recorded.
• Ocean heat content rose by 16 zettajoules in 2024—equivalent to 140 times the planet’s electricity production—causing a sea level rise of 1 millimeter in a year.
• Scientists warn that even if Paris Agreement targets are met, ocean warming will continue, leading to further climate crises.
• UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged governments to deliver “trail-blazing climate action” in 2025 to limit further damage and prevent climate catastrophe.
The year 2024 marked a grim milestone for the planet as global temperatures soared above the critical 1.5°C threshold for the first time, according to a report from the United Nations World Meteorological Organization (WMO). This unprecedented spike in global warming intensified climate-driven disasters and has raised alarms among scientists, policymakers, and advocates who warn that without urgent action, the impacts of the climate crisis will worsen exponentially.
The WMO confirmed that the global average temperature in 2024 reached 1.55°C above pre-industrial levels. “We saw extraordinary land, sea surface temperatures, extraordinary ocean heat accompanied by very extreme weather affecting many countries around the world, destroying lives, livelihoods, hopes, and dreams,” said Clare Nullis, WMO spokesperson, as reported by UN News.
While some datasets from international climate organizations did not show temperatures crossing the 1.5°C mark, a majority did. The consensus among scientists is that this spike is a clear indicator of the worsening climate crisis and a sign that the world is perilously close to surpassing the long-term temperature goals set in the 2015 Paris Agreement.
The Paris Agreement aimed to limit global warming to “well below” 2°C, with an aspirational target of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. WMO officials stressed that the agreement is “not yet dead but in grave danger” and reiterated that the long-term goals are based on decades of temperature averages rather than individual years.
WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo highlighted the significance of the 2024 data. “Climate history is playing out before our eyes,” Saulo said. “We’ve had not just one or two record-breaking years, but a full ten-year series.”
Saulo also stressed that “every fraction of a degree of warming matters,” explaining that even small increases in global temperatures have significant consequences for human lives, ecosystems, and economies.
One of the most concerning findings in the WMO report was the record-breaking ocean heat content, which has been steadily rising over the past several years. The ocean absorbs roughly 90% of excess heat produced by global warming, making it a critical indicator of climate change.
A separate study published in Advances in Atmospheric Sciences revealed that the upper 2,000 meters of the ocean became warmer by approximately 16 zettajoules from 2023 to 2024 — an increase equivalent to 140 times the world’s total electricity output in 2023.
“The broken records in the ocean have become a broken record,” said Professor Lijing Cheng from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
This rise in ocean heat is not just a statistic — it has tangible consequences. Warmer ocean waters fuel more intense hurricanes, typhoons, and heatwaves, leading to devastating impacts on communities worldwide.
Dr. Samantha Burgess, deputy director of the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), warned that the likelihood of overshooting the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C target is “extremely high.”
The record-breaking temperatures in 2024 were accompanied by a series of catastrophic weather events across the globe. In Los Angeles, deadly wildfires fueled by unusually dry conditions and strong Santa Ana winds destroyed more than 1,000 homes and forced tens of thousands to evacuate.
Scientists have linked these wildfires, along with record-breaking floods, hurricanes, and droughts in other parts of the world, to the escalating climate crisis.
Data from C3S showed that on July 10, 2024, nearly 44% of the planet experienced “strong” to “extreme heat stress,” marking a new annual maximum. That figure is five percent higher than the average yearly maximum and highlights the increasing severity of heatwaves worldwide.
“These high global temperatures, coupled with record global atmospheric water vapor levels in 2024, meant unprecedented heatwaves and heavy rainfall events, causing misery for millions of people,” said Burgess.
In 2024, the average person experienced six additional weeks of dangerous heat compared to previous years. This exposure exacerbated health risks, particularly for vulnerable populations such as the elderly, children, and people with pre-existing health conditions.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for immediate action in response to the WMO findings. “Individual years pushing past the 1.5°C limit do not mean the long-term goal is shot,” Guterres said. “It means we need to fight even harder to get on track. Blazing temperatures in 2024 require trail-blazing climate action in 2025.”
Guterres emphasized that governments must deliver updated national climate action plans in 2025 to limit long-term temperature increases to 1.5°C.
“There’s still time to avoid the worst of climate catastrophe. But leaders must act — now,” Guterres added.
The WMO report relied on data from multiple international climate organizations, including NASA, the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the European Center for Medium Range Weather Forecasts.
The report also highlighted a collaborative study on ocean warming involving researchers from seven countries. These scientists used advanced technologies, such as Argo floats and expendable bathythermographs, to collect temperature data from the ocean’s surface down to 2,000 meters.
Kevin Trenberth, a researcher at the University of Auckland and a co-author of the study, emphasized the importance of continued global cooperation in climate research. “It’s very important that everyone who has information share that data, and then we can get a more complete picture of what is going on,” Trenberth said.
However, political tensions, particularly between the U.S. and China, have posed challenges to international collaboration on climate science.
“Congress has been preventing interaction with Chinese scientists for the most part now, which is rather unfortunate,” Trenberth noted.
The findings from the WMO and other climate organizations make it clear that immediate and aggressive action is needed to mitigate the worst effects of climate change. Experts agree that governments must prioritize transitioning to renewable energy, halting deforestation, and investing in climate adaptation measures to protect vulnerable communities.
“The world doesn’t need to come up with a magical solution to stop things from getting worse in 2025,” said Dr. Friederike Otto of Imperial College London. “We know exactly what we need to do to transition away from fossil fuels, halt deforestation, and make societies more resilient.”
As Guterres warned, “Blazing temperatures in 2024 require trail-blazing climate action in 2025. There’s still time to avoid the worst of climate catastrophe. But leaders must act — now.”
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