The year 2024 has officially become the warmest year on record, marking a pivotal moment in the global climate crisis by surpassing the 1.5°C warming threshold, according to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). Based on data from six distinct datasets, the WMO confirmed that the average global temperature in 2024 was 1.55°C higher than pre-industrial levels, defined as the 1850–1900 period.
One dataset, from the Copernicus Climate Change Service managed by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting, reported an even more significant warming of 1.6°C above pre-industrial levels.
This milestone unseats 2023 as the previous record-holder for the warmest year, which saw a global temperature increase of 1.45°C over pre-industrial times. The WMO noted that all six datasets placed 2024 as the warmest year ever, although not all recorded temperatures exceeding the 1.5°C threshold.
India also experienced its warmest year on record in 2024, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), though its warming did not breach the 1.5°C mark. The IMD stated that the warming over Indian land areas is significantly lower than the global average, and the country’s temperature records do not extend to pre-industrial times.
The 1.5°C benchmark is a critical component of the 2015 Paris Agreement, which urges nations to limit global warming to “well below 2°C” above pre-industrial levels while striving to stay within 1.5°C. Achieving this target is seen as crucial to mitigating the most severe impacts of climate change.
However, breaching the 1.5°C threshold in a single year does not imply that the Paris Agreement’s goals are unattainable. Long-term temperature trends over decades, rather than individual years or months, determine whether these targets are met. While monthly or daily temperatures have crossed the 1.5°C mark numerous times in recent years, the threshold is considered breached from a climate perspective only if sustained over decades.
“It is important to emphasise that a single year of more than 1.5°C does not mean we have failed to meet the Paris Agreement long-term temperature goals, which are measured over decades rather than an individual year. However, every fraction of a degree of warming matters. Whether below or above 1.5°C, every additional increment of global warming increases the impacts on our lives, economies, and planet,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.
The record-breaking temperatures of 2023 and 2024 have ensured that all ten years from 2015 to 2024 now rank among the ten warmest years on record. Notably, every month since July 2023, except July 2024, exceeded the 1.5°C warming threshold, according to data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting.
Early projections indicate that 2025 is unlikely to follow the trend of the last two years. Initial estimates suggest that it will not set a new temperature record, offering a brief respite from the relentless upward trend in global temperatures.
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