In the year 2024, global temperatures exceeded the threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to the pre-industrial era. Climate change has pushed the planet’s temperature to levels previously unknown to modern humans.
For the first time, the planet has exceeded the internationally agreed global warming limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius, resulting in extreme temperatures affecting the lives of millions of people.
The average temperature in 2024 was 1.6 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, the EU’s Climate Change Service reported, The Guardian reports. That’s an increase of 0.1 degrees Celsius from 2023, which was also a year with record temperatures.
The planet is overheating mainly due to the burning of fossil fuels, and people’s lives and daily living will continue to deteriorate all over the world until coal, oil and gas are replaced.
The 1.5 degree Celsius target set out in the Paris treaty is measured over a decade or two, so a single year above that level doesn’t mean the target has been missed entirely, but it is an indicator that the climate crisis is deepening . Every year in recent decades has been in the top 10 hottest since records began in 1850.
“Every year for the rest of your life will be the warmest on record. This means, at the same time, that 2024 will be among the coldest years of this century. Enjoy it while you can”, said professor and scientist Andrew Dessler from the American Texas A&M University.
“These high global temperatures have disrupted the lives of millions”
The EU report also shows that a record number of people have been affected by global warming. Specifically, 44% of the planet suffered from extreme heat on July 10, 2024.
“There is a very high chance that we will not be able to maintain the target of warming by 1.5 degrees Celsius on average. These high global temperatures, along with record 2024 levels of greenhouse-enhancing water vapor in the atmosphere, have led to unprecedented heat waves and heavy rainfall, disrupting the lives of millions of peoplesaid Dr Samantha Burgess, Deputy Director of the EU Climate Change Service.
“This new record should be seen as a wake-up call to reality. A year of extreme weather has shown just how dangerous life can be with a temperature increase of 1.5 degrees Celsius. The floods in Valencia, hurricanes in the USA, typhoons in the Philippines, drought in the Amazon are just four natural phenomena of the past year that have been much more terrible due to climate change“, said Dr. Friederike Otto, a professor at Imperial College London, who added: “The world doesn’t have to come up with a magic solution to keep things from getting worse. We know exactly what we need to do to transition away from fossil fuels, stop deforestation and make societies more resilient“.
Carbon emissions in 2024 are expected to hit a new record, meaning the transition away from fossil fuels promised by the nations of the world at the UN conference in Dubai in December 2023 has not begun. The planet has entered a straight line towards catastrophic levels of global warming by 2.7 degrees Celsius by the end of the century, reports The Guardian.
“Every fraction, whether we’re talking 1.4 degrees Celsius, 1.5 or 1.6 degrees Celsius, causes damage to people and ecosystems, which underlines the need for ambitious reductions in carbon emissions. The cost of solar and wind power is falling rapidly and is cheaper in some countries than fossil fuels”, said Professor Joeri Rogelj from Imperial College London.
