2024 recognized as warmest year in history

By Alimat Aliyeva

Climatologists have confirmed that 2024 will be the warmest year on record. Scientists from the European Copernicus Climate Change Service reached this conclusion after analyzing data from January to November. According to their findings, the global temperature in November exceeded pre-industrial levels by 1.62 degrees Celsius. The average temperature for the year is projected to surpass the 19th-century baseline by 1.60 degrees — higher than the previous record set in 2023, which exceeded the baseline by 1.48 degrees, Azernews reports.

The study also highlights that 2024 will be the first year when the average global temperature exceeds the pre-industrial level by more than 1.5 degrees Celsius. According to scientists, large-scale measures to combat climate change have now become "more urgent" than ever before.

At the end of 2023, many nations made a global commitment to phase out fossil fuels. However, greenhouse gas emissions continued to rise throughout 2024. To limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, emissions must be reduced by 45 percent by 2030, according to experts.

The climate crisis is being exacerbated by increasingly extreme weather events: more frequent and intense heat waves, storms, and floods. Scientists at the Copernicus service reported that 2024 has seen particularly severe forest fires in both North and South America. These fires have also affected the Pantanal wetlands, an area rich in biodiversity.

Some of these fires reached historic scales, particularly in Bolivia, the Pantanal, and parts of the Amazon. They caused significant air pollution across the continents, with the effects lingering for weeks.

The economic damage caused by extreme weather events continues to climb. Estimated losses for 2024 are expected to total $320 billion, a 6 percent increase over 2023 and 25 percent higher than the 10-year average, according to The Guardian.

Another study revealed that the concentration of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere has risen to 151 percent above pre-industrial levels. Over the past 20 years, CO2 levels have increased by more than 10 percent. The concentration of methane has increased by 265 percent, while nitrous oxide has risen by 125 percent. In total, the amount of polluting particles in the planet's atmosphere has reached a record high. This study was conducted by experts from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).