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.
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More than 10,000 excess deaths were recorded across 27 European countries during a record-breaking heatwave in late June, with older people accounting for the vast majority of the toll, according to official mortality data.
Typhoon Bavi, the strongest storm to hit the eastern coast of mainland China this year, brought heavy rain, strong winds, flooding and landslides after making landfall in Zhejiang province on Sunday. More than 2.8 million people were evacuated to safety ahead of the storm.
Southern European countries are preparing for another wave of scorching temperatures on Wednesday, having barely recovered from last month's heatwave. France, Italy, Spain and Portugal are all expected to face extreme heat, while wildfire risks remain high.
Wildfires are continuing to burn across southern Europe, forcing people from their homes, damaging property and stretching emergency services as high temperatures and dry conditions create ideal conditions for fast-moving fires.
The 4th Shusha Global Media Forum will bring together nearly 160 media leaders, experts and officials from 54 countries in Azerbaijan's historic city of Shusha on 13-14 July, to discuss journalism’s role in peacebuilding, restoring public trust and tackling challenges.
The U.S. has launched fresh strikes on Iran after Tehran targeted a container ship and said it had again closed the Strait of Hormuz. Iran also claimed to have expanded attacks on U.S. military facilities across the Gulf.
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Typhoon Bavi, the strongest storm to hit the eastern coast of mainland China this year, brought heavy rain, strong winds, flooding and landslides after making landfall in Zhejiang province on Sunday. More than 2.8 million people were evacuated to safety ahead of the storm.
China has maintained its highest-level rainstorm warning after Typhoon Bavi made landfall on the country's eastern coast, urging large-scale evacuations and emergency preparations across several provinces amid fears of severe flooding and landslides
As a wildfire swept through the mountains toward rural Andalusian villages near Los Gallardos in southern Spain, residents faced a life-or-death decision. They had to choose between sheltering from the smoke or risking evacuation through rapidly spreading flames.
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Typhoon Bavi churned southeast of Taiwan in the Pacific Ocean on Thursday, its winds easing overnight to just shy of 200 kph (124 mph), as authorities urged residents to stock up on supplies and brace for what could be the most powerful typhoon since 2024.
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