Climate Global warming averaged 1.6 degrees in 2024

dpa

12.1.2025 - 09:45

The highest average temperature, the highest humidity and the greatest heat stress since measurements began - these are the data from 2024. The consequences were extreme storms and flooding.

DPA

According to a report, 2024 was the first year since measurements began that was more than 1.5 degrees warmer on average worldwide than the pre-industrial average. It was also the warmest year ever measured, as reported by the climate change service of the EU Copernicus program in Reading, UK. This corresponds to the preliminary estimates.

According to the latest data, the year was even 1.6 degrees warmer than the estimated average temperature from 1850 to 1900. At the same time, the last ten years (2015-2024) were the warmest since records began.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in Geneva gave the value for 2024 as 1.55 degrees above the pre-industrial level. In addition to the Copernicus data, it looked at five other data sets from the UK, the USA and Japan. It gives the value of 1.55 degrees with an uncertainty of plus/minus 0.13 degrees. The US space agency NASA and the US weather agency NOAA also published data according to which 2024 was the warmest year since their records began, even according to their measurements.

"There is still time to prevent the worst climate catastrophe," said UN Secretary-General Antóno Guterres in New York. "But politicians must take action - now."

Report is a "warning signal"

"All internationally compiled global temperature data show that 2024 was the warmest year since records began in 1850," emphasized Carlo Buontempo, Director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service. The huge data set comes from satellites, ships, airplanes and weather stations around the world.

"This report is a warning signal, because we must do everything we can to reduce greenhouse gas emissions," says Niklas Höhne, co-founder of the NewClimate Institute. "We must do more than before."

According to Copernicus, the average global temperature in 2024 was 15.10 degrees, 0.12 degrees higher than in 2023, the warmest year on record. A new record for the hottest day was set on July 22, 2024 with a global temperature of 17.16 degrees. 2024 was also the warmest year on record in Europe and, according to the German Weather Service, also in Germany.

In 2015, the Paris Climate Agreement agreed to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels if possible. However, not only was 2024 already warmer, but also the two-year average for 2023 and 2024, which was 1.54 degrees, according to Copernicus. "This does not mean that we have exceeded the limit set out in the Paris Agreement." The agreement refers to temperature deviations that are averaged over a period of at least 20 years.

Quite a few extreme events even with today's temperatures

"I think the 1.5 degree target is no longer tenable," said Andreas Fink from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). According to his knowledge, the technologies for removing CO2 from the atmosphere will also not be able to extract the necessary quantities of CO2 from the atmosphere in the coming decades. It is therefore absolutely necessary to reduce greenhouse gas emissions very quickly. The costs of escalating climate change are significantly higher than turning away from coal, oil and gas.

At 1.5 degrees, this is a political target above which things happen "that we no longer find acceptable", said Höhne. 2024 had shown how dangerous the temperature level already was. "There were extreme events all over the world: temperatures above 50 degrees, extreme precipitation that brought as much rain in one day as it usually does in a year, and huge fires that could not be put out," emphasized the climate researcher. "As long as we continue to emit greenhouse gases, the temperature will continue to rise and with it the probability of these extreme events."

Not only land areas, but also the oceans were warmer on an annual average than at any time since measurements began. This applies to both the temperatures on the surface and the stored heat down to a depth of 2,000 meters, reports a team led by Lijing Cheng from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The warming of the oceans down to a depth of 2,000 meters is even accelerating.

The oceans are very important for the Earth's climate, as they absorb around 90 percent of the heat generated by the increase in greenhouse gases. They also influence the weather by releasing heat and moisture into the atmosphere.

According to Copernicus, the temperature records led to the highest amount of water vapor ever measured in the atmosphere. In 2024, it was around five percent higher than the average from 1991 to 2020. The combination of high sea temperatures and high humidity contributed to severe storms, including tropical cyclones.

On the other hand, prolonged dry periods in several regions favored forest fires, Copernicus explains, referring in particular to large-scale and long-lasting forest fires in America. In addition, the area of the Earth affected by at least "severe" heat stress reached a new record on July 10, when around 44 percent of the Earth experienced "severe" to "extreme heat stress".

There are also positive developments

According to the Copernicus experts, the main reason for the high temperatures is the high emission of man-made greenhouse gases. For example, the concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere reached new record levels in 2024 since measurements began. Another factor in the warming was the El Niño climate phenomenon, which peaked in December 2023 and also influenced temperatures in the first half of 2024.

Höhne nevertheless points to positive developments: "We have seen that we can change things," he said. "Renewable energies, the number of e-cars and heat pumps are developing faster every year worldwide than previously predicted."

Still a lot to do for a better world

"Ten years ago, we calculated that the earth's temperature would rise by 3.5 degrees by the end of the century compared to pre-industrial times," said Höhne, referring to the Climate Action Tracker project. Thanks to the rapid development in climate protection, it is now 2.7 degrees. If all countries meet their announced climate neutrality targets, it would be 1.9 degrees.

Greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced to zero globally. "But there is still a lot to do," said Höhne. But it is worth it.

US President-elect Donald Trump could not argue against the fact that renewable energies are unbeatably cheap. In Germany, it is important that the parties fight the climate crisis together, said Höhne. "It is an existential crisis in which the parties must work together without playing each other off." The heating law is just as necessary as the ban on the registration of combustion vehicles from 2035.