2024 confirmed to be warmest year on record globally - Copernicus
2024 also marks the first calendar year in which the average global temperature exceeded 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial level, a critical threshold set by the Paris Agreement.
BRUSSELS - The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) confirmed Friday that 2024 is the hottest year globally since records began in 1850, emphasising the critical need for decisive global action to combat climate change, Xinhua reported.
2024 also marks the first calendar year in which the average global temperature exceeded 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial level, a critical threshold set by the Paris Agreement, the European climate body said in a press release.
Last year, the global average temperature was 15.1 degrees Celsius, 0.12 degrees Celsius above 2023, the previous warmest year. This is equivalent to 1.6 degrees Celsius above an estimate of the pre-industrial level, Copernicus said.
The statement added that the two-year average for 2023 and 2024 also exceeded the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold above its pre-industrial level.
The Paris Agreement seeks to limit global warming to well below two degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial level, with an aspiration to cap it at 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of this century.
"While this does not mean we have breached the limit set by the Paris Agreement -- this refers to temperature anomalies averaged over at least 20 years -- it underscores that global temperatures are rising beyond what modern humans have ever experienced," the statement noted.
Data from the climate change service indicates that the total amount of water vapour in the atmosphere reached a record high in 2024, at about 5 per cent above the 1991-2020 average, and significantly higher than in 2023.
"These high global temperatures, coupled with record global atmospheric water vapour levels in 2024, meant unprecedented heatwaves and heavy rainfall events, causing misery for millions of people," said Samantha Burgess, strategic lead for the climate of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF).
In an exclusive interview with Xinhua, C3S climate scientist Julien Nicolas attributed the extreme temperatures primarily to human-induced climate change, adding that other factors, such as the El Nino Southern Oscillation -- a natural climate pattern that warms ocean surface temperatures in the Pacific -- also contributed to the high temperatures observed during the year.
Recognising the urgency of the situation, C3S Director Carlo Buontempo emphasised, "the future is in our hands -- swift and decisive action can still alter the trajectory of our future climate." - BERNAMA-XINHUA
