Last year was the hottest on record, the first to exceed a symbolic threshold, bringing with it deadly impacts such as floods and drought, scientists said.
Two new sets of data found that 2024 was the first calendar year in which average global temperatures exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels – before humans began burning fossil fuels on a large scale.
Not only does record temperature have real-world implications; Contributed to deadly floods in Spain And evil Drought in places like Zambia in South Africa.
It is also very symbolic.
Countries agreed in the landmark Paris Agreement to ideally limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, because the impacts beyond that would be more severe.
The news arrives as well California battles ‘hell on Earth’ wildfires.suspected it was Exacerbated by climate change.
This comes as experts warn Support for Paris goals ‘more fragile than ever’ – With Donald Trump and the Argentine President ready Roll back on climate action.
What will cause temperatures to rise in 2024? Will he stay?
Friends of the Earth described today’s findings by the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service and the Met Office as “deeply disturbing”.
The “main driver” of heat in the past two years has been human-induced climate change, but the main reason behind the rise in temperatures in the past two years is climate change. The temporary weather phenomenon of El Nino They also contributed, they said.
A breach in 2024 does not mean the world has moved beyond 1.5ยฐC of warming forever โ that won’t be announced for several years after it does, and warming may ease slightly this year as El Nino fades.
But Copernicus said the world was โteetering on the brinkโ of doing so.
Professor Piers Forster, chair of the UK Climate Change Committee, described it as “a taste of life at 1.5ยฐC”.
Dr. Gabriel Pauline, Zambia’s national disaster coordinator, said that “no area of โโlife and economy has been spared” from the country’s worst drought in more than 100 years.
He said six million people were facing famine, vital hydropower had declined, power outages were frequent, industry had been “destroyed” and growth had been cut in half.
Paris target ‘not outdated’
Scientists took pains to point out that it is not too late to limit the worst of climate change, and urged leaders to continue and strengthen climate action.
Professor Forster said temporarily exceeding 1.5C “does not mean the target is outdated”, but we must “redouble our efforts” to cut greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to a hotter world.
The Met Office said “every fraction of a degree” still makes a difference to the severity of extreme weather.
The California fires were sparked by strong, dry winds and are likely to be exacerbated by climate change. Photo: Reuters
Copernicus Director Carlo Bontempo added: โThe future is in our hands: rapid and decisive action can still change the course of our future climate.โ
Climate action is an ‘economic opportunity’
Copernicus found that average global temperatures in 2024 were 15.10 degrees Celsius, the hottest on record going back to 1850, making it 1.60 degrees Celsius higher than the pre-industrial level during the period 1850-1900.
Met Office data found that temperatures in 2024 were 1.53C higher than pre-industrial levels.
The numbers are global averages, combining extremes from around the world into a single number. That’s probably why the weather was cold in some parts of the world last year.
With Donald Trump, “the world’s most powerful climate denier”, returning to the White House, others must “take up the mantle of global climate leadership”, Greenpeace activist Philip Evans said.
British Climate Minister Kerry McCarthy said the UK is working with other countries to reduce global emissions, as well Greening the economy at home.
“Not only is this crucial for our planet, it is the economic opportunity of the 21st century… tackling the climate crisis while creating new jobs, providing energy security and attracting new investment to the UK,” he added.
