In 2024, climate change caused the annual global temperature to exceed the internationally agreed target of 1.5°C for the first time. The average temperature last year was 1.6°C higher than pre-industrial levels, according to the data of the European Union’s Copernicus climate service.
Copernicus data show that on July 10, 2024, a record 44% of the planet suffered from severe to extreme heat stress. July 22 was the hottest day in history. Every year of the last decade has been one of the 10 hottest. Observations have been kept since 1850.
“These high global temperatures, combined with record global levels of water vapor in the atmosphere in 2024, have caused unprecedented heat and heavy rainfall, affecting millions of people,” said Copernicus Deputy Director Samantha Burgess.
Floods in Valencia, hurricanes in the United States, typhoons in the Philippines, and drought in the Amazon are just four of the disasters that occurred last year and were exacerbated by climate change.
The Paris Climate Agreement stipulates that the world will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, ensure that global temperatures do not rise by more than 2°C above pre-industrial levels this century, and ensure that temperature increases remain below 1.5°C. This means that 2024 surpassed this target.
Scientists say Earth is heating up at a “dangerous rate.” We need to increase the share of renewable energy sources to remedy the climate situation.