2024 is set to be the hottest year ever recorded, with global temperatures exceeding 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Extreme weather events, linked to human-induced climate change, have wreaked havoc worldwide, as CO2 emissions hit record highs despite global green pledges.
This year is set to be the warmest on record, with exceptionally high temperatures likely to persist at least into the early months of 2025, European Union scientists revealed on Monday.
According to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), this announcement follows just two weeks after U.N. climate negotiations resulted in a $300 billion agreement to address climate change. However, poorer nations have criticised the deal as inadequate to cover the escalating costs of climate-related disasters.
C3S confirmed that data from January to November establishes 2024 as the hottest year on record, and the first to see global average temperatures exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above the 1850–1900 pre-industrial baseline.
The previous record-holder was 2023.
This year has been marked by extreme weather events worldwide, including severe droughts in Italy and South America, deadly floods in Nepal, Sudan, and Europe, heatwaves in Mexico, Mali, and Saudi Arabia that claimed thousands of lives, and devastating cyclones in the U.S. and the Philippines.
Scientific studies have linked all these disasters to human-induced climate change.
November was the second-warmest on record, trailing only behind November 2023.
"We're still in near-record-high territory for global temperatures, and that's likely to stay at least for the next few months," said Julien Nicolas, a Copernicus climate researcher, speaking to Reuters.
The principal driver of climate change is carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels.
Cutting emissions to net zero—an ambition many governments have pledged to achieve—would halt the worsening of global warming. Yet, despite these commitments, global CO2 emissions are projected to reach a record high this year.
Scientists are also observing whether the La Niña weather pattern, which involves the cooling of ocean surface temperatures, might emerge in 2025.
While this could briefly lower global temperatures, it would not interrupt the overarching warming trend caused by emissions. Currently, the world is experiencing neutral conditions, following the conclusion of El Niño—La Niña’s hotter counterpart—earlier this year.
"While 2025 might be slightly cooler than 2024, if a La Niña event develops, this does not mean temperatures will be 'safe' or 'normal'," explained Friederike Otto, a senior lecturer at Imperial College London.
"We will still face high temperatures, leading to dangerous heatwaves, droughts, wildfires, and tropical cyclones."
C3S records, which date back to 1940, are cross-verified with global temperature data extending as far back as 1850.
A staggering 4 billion people—half of the world’s population—experienced at least 30 additional days of extreme heat over the past year due to human-induced climate change, a new international study revealed Friday.
Massive ice blocks breaking off from Argentina’s Perito Moreno glacier have grown larger in recent years, raising concerns among experts about its long-term stability amid signs of retreat.
Latest data show dwindling river flows and worsening drought: these conditions are triggered by warmer-than-average weather and lower precipitation across much of the continent since the beginning of the year, according to the Drought in Europe – April 2025 report, published by the JRC.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on world leaders to urgently step up climate efforts ahead of COP30, stressing that the planet faces deepening threats from worsening environmental disasters.
Climate change is threatening the sustainability of low Earth orbit, with new research from MIT revealing that shrinking atmospheric layers could significantly reduce the number of satellites able to operate safely by the end of the century.
Türkiye’s first floating natural gas production platform, Osman Gazi, reached Filyos Port in Zonguldak on May 31.
Authorities in Whatcom County, Washington, issued a warning Friday after a truck carrying honey bee hives overturned near the Canadian border, initially prompting fears that millions of bees had been released.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will travel to Washington next week to meet U.S. President Donald Trump.
Landslides and flash floods caused by days of heavy monsoon rain have killed at least 22 people in India’s northeast, officials said.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said Saturday that the border conflict with Thailand “must be resolved with patience and through legal and diplomatic channels.”
On May 28, the inauguration ceremony of Lachin International Airport was held.
A car drove into crowds of Liverpool fans celebrating the club’s Premier League title in the city centre on Monday evening, injuring dozens including 4 children. A 53-year-old man believed to be the driver was arrested at the scene.
EU ministers have greenlit a massive €150 billion defense investment fund—dubbed the Security Action for Europe (SAFE)—as the bloc ramps up its military readiness in response to Russia’s aggression and growing uncertainty over U.S. security guarantees.
Brazil’s economy is expected to have regained momentum in the first quarter of 2025, driven by a surge in household spending and private investment, according to a Reuters poll of economists conducted from May 21–26.
An international academic conference titled "Islamophobia: Exposing Prejudice and Destroying Stigma" has officially opened in the capital of Azerbaijan, bringing together global scholars, experts, and policymakers to address the rise and consequences of anti-Muslim discrimination.
A massive landslide in southern Switzerland this week buried the village of Blatten and blocked a river, creating a growing risk of flooding. Millions of cubic meters of ice, mud, and rock crashed down from a mountain on Wednesday, flooding the few buildings left in the village.
The Green Climate Fund (GCF)-backed project, “Strengthening Climate Resilience of Vulnerable Agricultural Livelihoods in Southern Iraq” (SRVALI), was officially launched on the sidelines of the 5th Baghdad International Water Conference.
A staggering 4 billion people—half of the world’s population—experienced at least 30 additional days of extreme heat over the past year due to human-induced climate change, a new international study revealed Friday.
The next five years are likely to be the warmest in recorded history, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), as rising global temperatures push the planet closer to surpassing key climate thresholds with wide-ranging consequences.
A seabird chick found with 778 plastic pieces inside its body on a remote island between Australia and New Zealand has become a powerful symbol of the global plastic pollution crisis. Scientists say the plastic has caused chronic illness and cognitive decline in the bird, raising urgent concerns abo
Türkiye’s first floating natural gas production platform, Osman Gazi, reached Filyos Port in Zonguldak on May 31.
Authorities in Whatcom County, Washington, issued a warning Friday after a truck carrying honey bee hives overturned near the Canadian border, initially prompting fears that millions of bees had been released.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will travel to Washington next week to meet U.S. President Donald Trump.
Landslides and flash floods caused by days of heavy monsoon rain have killed at least 22 people in India’s northeast, officials said.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said Saturday that the border conflict with Thailand “must be resolved with patience and through legal and diplomatic channels.”
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