As extreme weather events due to climate change are increasingly observed worldwide, both the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), the weather information agency of the European Union (EU), have announced that 2024 was the first year to exceed the Paris Agreement target of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Data from both organizations showed that 2024 was another record-setting year following 2023.

WMO confirms 2024 as warmest year on record at about 1.55°C above pre-industrial levels

According to the WMO’s consolidated analysis of the six datasets, the global average surface temperature was 1.55 °C (with a margin of uncertainty of ± 0.13 °C) above the 1850-1900 average. The datasets are from the European Center for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), Japan Meteorological Agency, NASA, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the UK’s Met Office in collaboration with the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia (HadCRUT), and Berkeley Earth.

Key Messages

• Six international datasets were used to reach the consolidated WMO global figure.
• The past ten years (2015-2024) were the ten warmest years on record.
• We have likely seen the first calendar year with a global mean temperature of more than 1.5°C above the 1850-1900 average.
• 2024 saw exceptional land and sea surface temperatures and ocean heat.
• The long-term temperature goal of the Paris Agreement is not yet dead, but it is in grave danger.

WMO points out that high temperatures are caused by continuous greenhouse gas emissions due to human activities. High temperatures have been accompanied by devastating and extreme weather, rising sea levels and melting ice, and action must be taken as soon as possible.

WMO confirms 2024 as warmest year on record at about 1.55°C above pre-industrial level（WMO）

Copernicus: 2024 is the first year to exceed 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels

The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) also reported that 2024 was the warmest year in world records dating back to 1850. The global average temperature of 15.10°C was 0.72°C above the 1991-2020 average, and 0.12°C above 2023, the previous warmest year on record. C3S pointed out that global temperatures are rising to unprecedented levels due to climate change and emphasized urgency.

Key Messages

• 2024 was the warmest year in global temperature records going back to 1850. According to ERA5, the global average temperature of 15.10°C was 0.72°C above the 1991-2020 average, and 0.12°C above 2023, the previous warmest year on record. This is equivalent to 1.60°C above an estimate of the 1850-1900 temperature designated to be the pre-industrial level.
• 2024 is the first calendar year that has reached more than 1.5°C above the pre-industrial level.
• Each of the past 10 years (2015–2024) was one of the 10 warmest years on record.
• The monthly global average temperature exceeded 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels for 11 months of the year. Going back further, all months since July 2023, except for July 2024, have exceeded the 1.5°C level.
• A new record high for daily global average temperature was reached on 22 July 2024, at 17.16°C.
• 2024 was the warmest year for all continental regions, except Antarctica and Australasia, as well as for sizable parts of the ocean, particularly the North Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and the western Pacific Ocean.
• 2024 saw three record-warm seasons for the corresponding time of the year: boreal winter (December 2023-February 2024), boreal spring (March-May) and boreal summer (June-August) at 0.78°C, 0.68°C and 0.69°C respectively above the 1991-2020 average.
• Each month from January to June 2024 was warmer than the corresponding month in any previous year on record. Each month from July to December, except August, was each the second warmest, after 2023, for the time of year. August 2024 was tied with August 2023 as the warmest on record.

The Copernicus Climate Change Service also looks at changes in sea surface temperature, and in 2024, the average annual sea surface temperature in the non-polar oceans reached a record high of 20.87°C, 0.51°C above the 1991-2020 average. Sea surface temperatures from January-June 2024 continued late 2023’s streak of record highs. One of the factors behind these high temperatures was the evolution of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), but even after the El Niño event ended, many regions continued to experience unusually high sea surface temperatures. For most of 2024, sea ice extent around Antarctica reached record or near-record low values, and in the Arctic, sea ice extent was near the 1991-2020 average level through July, but then became below average.

Copernicus: 2024 is the first year to exceed 1.5°C above pre-industrial level（C3S)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s analysis also concluded that the earth’s average surface temperature in 2024 was the warmest on record since record keeping began in 1880. While there are small variations in the numbers among the three organizations’ studies, all concluded that 2024 was the hottest year on record, and that as the Earth gets warmer, climate impacts will become more severe.

WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo commented, “It is important to emphasize that a single year of more than 1.5°C for a year does NOT mean that we have failed to meet Paris Agreement long-term temperature goals, which are measured over decades rather than an individual year. However, it is essential to recognize that every fraction of a degree of warming matters. Whether it is at a level below or above 1.5°C of warming, every additional increment of global warming increases the impacts on our lives, economies and our planet.”

Related Links

WMO PR：WMO confirms 2024 as warmest year on record at about 1.55°C above pre-industrial level
C3S PR：Copernicus: 2024 is the first year to exceed 1.5°C above pre-industrial level
NASA：Temperatures Rising: NASA Confirms 2024 Warmest Year on Record

Written/Published: World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
Published: January 10, 2025

Written/Published: Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S)
Published: january 10, 2025