WMO confirms 2024 as warmest year on record

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has confirmed that 2024 was the warmest year on record, with global average temperatures about 1.55°C above pre-industrial levels.

This follows a decade of relentless heat, with every year since 2015 ranking among the ten hottest years on record.

The WMO’s assessment is based on data from six international climate datasets, highlighting an unprecedented rate of global warming.

In a critical milestone, 2024 marks the likely first calendar year where the global temperature has exceeded the 1.5°C threshold above the 1850-1900 baseline, a key benchmark of the Paris Agreement.

The WMO’s report serves as a stark reminder of the escalating climate crisis and the urgent need for intensified global action.

“Today’s assessment from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) proves yet again – global heating is a cold, hard fact,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres. He cautioned, however, that while individual years surpassing the 1.5°C limit do not signal the end of long-term climate goals, they demand accelerated climate action. “Blazing temperatures in 2024 require trail-blazing climate action in 2025,” he added, urging world leaders to act swiftly to mitigate the worst effects of climate change.

The WMO’s temperature analysis combines data from a range of trusted global sources, including NASA, NOAA, the UK Met Office, and Japan’s Meteorological Agency, providing a robust picture of global temperature trends.

The year’s exceptionally high temperatures were fueled by a combination of human-driven global warming and the El Niño phenomenon, which lasted until May 2024.

Warmest year sees ocean heat rise

Alongside the soaring air temperatures, ocean heat reached record levels in 2024, marking the highest ocean temperatures ever recorded by humans. A separate study highlighted that approximately 90 per cent of the excess heat from global warming is stored in the ocean. This year alone, the global ocean heat content increased by 16 zettajoules (ZJ), roughly 140 times the total global electricity generation in 2023.

WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo described the past decade of record-breaking temperatures as “climate history playing out before our eyes,” warning that these conditions have been accompanied by rising sea levels, extreme weather, and the melting of ice caps. “Every fraction of a degree of warming matters. Whether it is below or above 1.5°C of warming, each increment increases the impacts on our planet, our economies, and our lives,” she said.

Climate goals in jeopardy

Despite the alarming figures, the WMO emphasised that a single year of temperatures surpassing 1.5°C does not signal a failure to meet the long-term temperature goals set by the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit global warming to “well below 2°C” and ideally to 1.5°C by the end of the century.

The Paris Agreement’s targets are based on long-term averages rather than individual yearly fluctuations. However, the report underscores that urgent and sustained action is necessary to limit further warming and its devastating effects.

Guterres called for governments to enhance national climate action plans to ensure global temperatures do not rise further. “There’s still time to avoid the worst of the climate catastrophe, but leaders must act — now,” he said.

The path forward

The WMO’s findings point to a need for immediate and comprehensive action to slow global warming. A global team of experts has indicated that the long-term average global temperature increase, as assessed in 2024, stands at about 1.3°C compared to the 1850-1900 baseline.

While this suggests that the 1.5°C target is not yet lost, it remains in serious jeopardy as extreme weather events and rising greenhouse gas levels continue to challenge efforts to combat climate change.

WMO will release its full State of the Global Climate 2024 report in March, which will include additional data on climate change indicators, such as sea-level rise, glacier retreat, and sea ice extent, as well as details on high-impact climate events.

In the face of these dire findings, the global community faces a critical moment to redouble efforts to mitigate climate change, particularly through international cooperation, innovation, and bold climate policies.

The clock is ticking, and the need for action has never been more urgent.