2024 Exceeds 1.5°C Above Pre-Industrial Level

Global Climate Highlights 2024 shows the accelerating impacts of human-induced climate change, which remains the primary driver of extreme air and sea surface temperatures. Other factors, such as the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), also contributed to the unusual temperatures observed during the year.     

2024 was the warmest year in global temperature records going back to 1850. The global surface air temperature of 15.1°C is 1.6°C above an estimate of the 1850-1900 temperature, designated as the pre-industrial level.  

As a result, the combined average temperature for 2023 and 2024 is 1.54°C above the pre-industrial level. Whilst the report highlights that one or two years that exceed 1.5°C does not imply that the Paris Agreement has been breached, it states, “With the current rate of warming at more than 0.2°C per decade, the probability of breaching the 1.5°C target of the Paris Agreement within the 2030s is highly likely.” 

Carlo Buontempo, Director of the C3S, commented, "All of the internationally produced global temperature datasets show that 2024 was the hottest year since records began in 1850. Humanity is in charge of its own destiny but how we respond to the climate challenge should be based on evidence. The future is in our hands - swift and decisive action can still alter the trajectory of our future climate.”   

High sea surface temperatures (SSTs) have been one of the most significant drivers behind the prevalence of high global temperatures in 2023 and 2024. The annual average SST for 2024 over the extra-polar ocean (60°S–60°N) reached a record high of 20.87°C, 0.51°C above the 1991–2020 average. 

In addition to this, sea ice extent, an essential indicator of the stability of Earth’s climate in the Arctic and around Antarctica, was significantly below average. Antarctic sea ice extent reached record or near-record low values for the second year in a row. In the Arctic, sea ice extent was close to the 1991–2020 average until July but fell well below average in the following months.    

Further, the atmospheric concentrations of key greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide and methane, continued to increase and reached record annual levels in 2024, at 422 parts per million (ppm) and 1897 parts per billion (ppb) respectively. 

The annual summary also points out the high number of extreme weather events observed globally in 2024. The total amount of water vapour in the atmosphere reached a record high last year, around 5% above the 1991–2020 average — significantly higher than in 2023. This abundant supply of moisture amplified the potential for extreme rainfall events. Combined with high sea surface temperatures, it contributed to the development of major storms, including tropical cyclones. 

Florence Rabier, Director-General of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) - which implements C3S - said, "The Global Climate Highlights is a vital tool for supporting international climate adaptation efforts. We are grateful for the European Commission’s continued trust towards ECMWF as an intergovernmental scientific organisation and for the dedication of our staff and collaborators, whose work makes this service possible. For 50 years, ECMWF’s leadership in meteorology with real-time data assimilation, operational expertise and the world’s largest meteorological historical database has been essential to ensuring global preparedness for weather-related challenges. All of this is achieved together with our Member States and their National Meteorological Services." 

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