Europe’s climate monitor has declared 2024 “effectively certain” to become the hottest year on record and the first to surpass the critical 1.5°C (2.7°F) climate threshold, as reported by Leaders sources. This milestone marks a pivotal moment in the fight against global warming, with dire implications for the planet’s future.
The Copernicus Climate Change Service, a European Union agency, reported on Monday that an unprecedented heatwave had driven global temperatures to extraordinary heights from January to November, surpassing 2023’s record-breaking warmth. “It is effectively certain that 2024 will be the warmest year on record,” the agency stated in its monthly update.
Copernicus relies on billions of data points gathered from satellites, ships, aircraft, and weather stations, with records dating back to 1940. These modern measurements are supplemented by historical climate data from sources like ice cores, tree rings, and coral skeletons, revealing that the current warming trend is likely the highest in 125,000 years.
Record-breaking Heat and Its Consequences
As per the sources of Leaders, November 2024 was the second-warmest November on record, trailing only November 2023. In Portugal, temperatures soared to their highest for the month, averaging 2.69°C (4.84°F) above the 1981–2010 baseline. For the first time, 2024’s global average temperature will exceed the 1.5°C threshold above pre-industrial levels—a symbolic and scientific marker established to avoid catastrophic climate impacts.
Scientists warn that sustained warming above this threshold could have devastating consequences, as outlined in the Paris Agreement, which seeks to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C. However, the world is far off track. A United Nations report in October estimated that current policies would lead to a catastrophic 3.1°C (5.6°F) rise by century’s end.
The Role of Emissions and Rising Impacts
The primary driver of this warming is carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels. Despite international pledges to transition away from coal, oil, and gas, these emissions continue to rise, exacerbating climate change and triggering more frequent and severe weather events.
This year alone witnessed deadly floods in Spain and Kenya, violent tropical storms in the United States and the Philippines, and devastating droughts and wildfires across South America. These events underscore the increasing toll of climate change, even at current temperature levels.
Funding Gaps in Climate Action
At the recent UN climate talks in November, wealthy nations committed to providing $300 billion annually by 2035 to combat climate impacts. However, this amount has been criticized as grossly inadequate to address the scale of the crisis.
As the world barrels toward record-breaking heat in 2024, the urgency for decisive climate action has never been greater. Without significant changes, the Earth is on course for further warming, threatening ecosystems, economies, and human lives worldwide
