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In a hottest decade on record, 2024 was warmest, with 41 dangerous heat days: WMO
The year also saw record-breaking rainfall, flooding events and terrible loss of life in so many countries
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2024 was the warmest year on record, capping a decade of unprecedented heat driven by human activities, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has reported, warning that greenhouse gas levels continue to grow to record observed highs, “locking in even more heat for the future.”
The WMO will publish the consolidated global temperature figure for 2024 in January and its State of the Global Climate 2024 report in March.
“Every fraction of a degree of warming matters, and increases climate extremes, impacts and risks,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo. “Temperatures are only part of the picture. Climate change plays out before our eyes on an almost daily basis in the form of increased occurrence and impact of extreme weather events.”
Saulo said that in her first year as WMO Secretary-General, she issued repeated red alerts about the state of the climate.
“WMO marks its 75th anniversary in 2025 and our message will be that if we want a safer planet, we must act now,” she said. “It’s our responsibility. It’s a common responsibility, a global responsibility.”
2024 saw record-breaking rainfall and flooding events and terrible loss of life in so many countries, Saulo pointed out.
“Tropical cyclones caused a terrible human and economic toll, most recently in the French overseas department of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean,” she said. “Intense heat scorched dozens of countries, with temperatures topping 50 °C on a number of occasions. Wildfires wreaked devastation.”
According to a new report from World Weather Attribution and Climate Central, climate change intensified 26 of the 29 weather events studied by World Weather Attribution that killed at least 3700 people and displaced millions.
The report titled When Risks Become Reality: Extreme Weather In 2024, revealed that climate change added 41 days of dangerous heat in 2024, harming human health and ecosystems.
“Today I can officially report that we have just endured a decade of deadly heat. The top ten hottest years on record have happened in the last ten years, including 2024,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres in his New Year message.
“This is climate breakdown -in real time. We must exit this road to ruin-and we have no time to lose. In 2025, countries must put the world on a safer path by dramatically slashing emissions, and supporting the transition to a renewable future,” he added.
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