Science World Meteorological Agency: climate change consequences partly irreversible
In addition to the record-high global average temperature in 2024, other indicators show the progression of climate change. Many consequences of warming are already irreversible, according to the report on the state of the global climate by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
19.03.2025, 01:14
SDA
This will at least be the case for hundreds or thousands of years. This includes ice loss and sea level rise, for example. "Our planet is sending out more and more stress signals," warned UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
Some highlights of the report:
- In 2024, the global average temperature was around 1.55 degrees above pre-industrialization levels (1850-1900), as climate researchers had already reported in January.
- The past eight years have each set a record for ocean heat content. The measurements began in 1960 and 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.
- The past three years all reached new lows with the lowest seasonal ice extent in the Antarctic at less than two million square kilometers. The measurements began in 1979.
- Glaciers worldwide have lost more mass in the past three years than ever before in a three-year period since measurements began in the 1970s.
- Sea level rise has more than doubled to 4.7 millimeters per year since satellite measurements began in 1993.
The climate is an inertial system: the trend towards ever higher temperatures would continue for decades, even in the extremely unlikely event of greenhouse gas emissions ceasing.
The year 2024 was the first year since measurements began that was on average over 1.5 degrees warmer worldwide than the pre-industrial average. It was also the warmest year ever measured. In 2015, the Paris Climate Agreement agreed to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels if possible.
The agreement refers to temperature deviations that are averaged over a period of at least 20 years. According to the WMO, the long-term value is currently between 1.34 and 1.41 degrees above pre-industrial levels, depending on the calculation method.
The particularly strong increase in the global average temperature in 2023 and 2024 was also due to naturally occurring phenomena such as the El Niño weather pattern and solar activity, the report also states.
