EU Copernicus - 2024 Officially Hottest Year On Record; 1.6C Above Preindustrial Baseline Temperatures

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Climate breakdown drove the annual global temperature above the internationally agreed 1.5C target for the first time last year, supercharging extreme weather and causing “misery to millions of people”. The average temperature in 2024 was 1.6C above preindustrial levels, data from the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) shows. That is a jump of 0.1C from 2023, which was also a record hot year and represents levels of heat never experienced by modern humans.

The heating is primarily caused by the burning of fossil fuels, and the damage to lives and livelihoods will continue to escalate around the world until coal, oil and gas are replaced. The Paris agreement target of 1.5C is measured over a decade or two, so a single year above that level does not mean the target has been missed, but does show the climate emergency continues to intensify. Every year in the past decade has been one of the 10 hottest, in records that go back to 1850.

The C3S data also shows that a record 44% of the planet was affected by strong to extreme heat stress on 10 July 2024, and that the hottest day in recorded history struck on 22 July. “There’s now an extremely high likelihood that we will overshoot the long-term average of 1.5C in the Paris agreement limit,” Dr Samantha Burgess, deputy director at C3S, said. “These high global temperatures, coupled with record global atmospheric water vapour levels in 2024, meant unprecedented heatwaves and heavy rainfall events, causing misery for millions of people.”

Dr Friederike Otto, at Imperial College London, said: “This record needs to be a reality check. A year of extreme weather showed just how dangerous life is at 1.5C. The Valencia floods, US hurricanes, the Philippines typhoons and Amazon drought are just four disasters last year that were worsened by climate change. There are many, many more.”

EDIT

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jan/10/world-temperature-in-2024-exceeded-15c-for-first-time

[Think. Again.]

1. Some more quotes from the article...

"“The world doesn’t need to come up with a magical solution to stop things from getting worse in 2025,” Otto said. “We know exactly what we need to do to transition away from fossil fuels, halt deforestation and make societies more resilient.”


"Prof Joeri Rogelj, at Imperial College London, said: “Every fraction of a degree – whether 1.4C, 1.5C, or 1.6C – brings more harm to people and ecosystems, underscoring the continued need for ambitious emissions cuts. The cost of solar and wind energy is falling rapidly and is now cheaper than fossil fuels in many countries.”


"Prof Andrew Dessler, a climate scientist at Texas A&M University in the US, has responded to new temperature records being set year after year by providing the same statement to the media: “Every year for the rest of your life will be one of the hottest [on] record. This, in turn, means that 2024 will end up being among the coldest years of this century. Enjoy it while it lasts.”