What climate records were broken in 2024?

This year, 2024, is set to become the hottest on record, surpassing the previous high in 2023, according to the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).

For the first time, average global temperatures will exceed 1.5C (2.7F) above pre-industrial levels from 1850-1900, the upper limit set by the Paris Agreement.

The agreement aimed to have countries work towards reducing global greenhouse gas emissions, with a goal of limiting the global average surface temperature increase to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels and striving to keep it well below 2C.

"This does not mean that the Paris Agreement has been breached, but it does mean ambitious climate action is more urgent than ever,” said Samantha Burgess, deputy director of C3S.

Rising temperatures have already triggered extreme weather events across the globe in 2024, including deadly floods in Nigeria and Europe, devastating wildfires in South America, early heatwaves and catastrophic hurricanes in the United States.

Left to right: Floods in Nigeria [AFP], wildfires in Brazil [AP], the aftermath of a hurricane in Barbados [AP]

JANUARY

The year began with a fiery start as the world experienced the warmest January on record, with an average surface air temperature of 13.14˚C. This is 0.12˚C above the previous temperature record for the warmest January, which was set in 2020.

January 2024 marked the eighth consecutive month in a row that was the warmest on record for the respective month of the year - a streak that began in June 2023 and ended in June 2024.

(Al Jazeera)

FEBRUARY

In February, the Northern Hemisphere concluded its warmest winter on record, while ocean temperatures soared to unprecedented levels.

The average global sea surface temperature reached 21.09C (69.8F), surpassing the previous record of 20.98C (69.77F) set in August 2023.

(Al Jazeera)

While this increase is partly attributed to the El Nino climate pattern, which causes unusually warm waters in the eastern Pacific, its reach is broader.

“What is more surprising is that sea surface temperatures are at record levels in regions far from El Nino’s centre, such as the tropical Atlantic and Indian Ocean,” noted Richard Allan, a climate scientist at the University of Reading, emphasising the profound impact of rising greenhouse gas emissions on global warming.

JUNE

As sea temperatures increase, evaporation speeds up, transferring more heat from the oceans to the air. When storms move over warm oceans, they absorb more water vapour and heat.

This leads to stronger winds, heavier rainfall and greater flooding when the storms reach land. This was seen when the Atlantic entered its hurricane season in June.

Hurricane Beryl, the season's first hurricane, was the earliest Category 5 on record in the Atlantic, according to the United Nations' World Meteorological Organization. Category 5 hurricanes cause catastrophic damage with winds of 157mph (252km/h) or higher.

Beryl formed in the Atlantic Ocean on June 28 and rapidly intensified into a major hurricane. Between June 29 and the morning of June 30, its winds surged by 65 miles per hour, reaching "extremely dangerous" Category 4 status.

Damaged buildings along the shore are seen in a drone photograph after the passage of Hurricane Beryl on the island of Carriacou, Grenada, on July 2, 2024 [Arthur Daniel/Reuters]

After making landfall on Carriacou island in the Caribbean on July 1, Beryl continued to strengthen, becoming the earliest Category 5 hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic basin by the United States's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on July 2.

JULY

On 22 July, 2024, Earth experienced its warmest day ever as the daily global average temperature reached a new high, at 17.16 degrees Celsius (62.9 degrees Fahrenheit), according to Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) data which began in 1940.

This breaks the previous record of 17.09C (62.7F), set just one day earlier on July 21, 2024. It also surpasses the 2023 record of 17.08C (62.8F) and marks a staggering leap from the 2016 record of 16.79C (62.2F).

The global average temperature is the average across all the hottest regions, coldest regions and everywhere in between. This metric is a crucial indicator of the changes occurring within Earth's complex systems.

“What is truly staggering is how large the difference is between the temperature of the last 13 months and the previous temperature records. We are now in truly uncharted territory and as the climate keeps warming, we are bound to see new records being broken in future months and years,” the EU climate monitor’s director, Carlo Buontempo, said in a statement.

Cities in Japan, Indonesia and China registered record heat in the days prior to the record. Gulf countries experienced temperatures that exceeded 60C (140F) when factoring in humidity while some European countries saw temperatures surge to 45C (113F).

AUGUST

August brought the warmest summer since records began in the Northern Hemisphere to a close, the European Union's climate change monitoring service said.

"The globe has experienced the hottest June and August, the hottest day on record and the hottest boreal summer on record," said C3S deputy director Samantha Burgess.

Meanwhile, in the Southern Hemisphere, Australia recorded its hottest winter day on August 26, with Yampi Sound, in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, reaching 41.6C, and its warmest August on record.

The area-averaged mean temperature for winter was 1.48C above the 1961 - 1990 average, making it the second-warmest winter on record.

Western Australia had its warmest winter since records began in 1910, while South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland ranked this winter among the 10 warmest.

(Al Jazeera)

SEPTEMBER

A low-pressure system named Boris brought torrential rains to central Europe, causing some of the worst flooding in nearly 30 years.

Between September 11 and 18, parts of the Czech Republic, Austria, Poland and Slovakia received three months' rainfall in just five days. The deluge flooded streets, submerged entire neighbourhoods and disrupted public transport and electricity in several areas.

(Al Jazeera)

On September 18, water levels along the Oder river in southeastern Poland exceeded the highest alert category designated by the country’s Institute of Meteorology.

Residents rescue a dog from rising floodwaters in the Romanian village of Slobozia Conachi on September 14, 2024 [Daniel Mihailescu/AFP]

West Africa also faced relentless rainfall, with Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Mali experiencing the worst flooding in decades, affecting thousands.

In Nigeria, floods affected 1.3 million people across 34 states and killed 320 people. While flooding is not uncommon in northern Nigeria, experts report that Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, experienced its worst flood in 30 years.

Buildings are submerged following a dam collapse in Maiduguri, Nigeria, on Tuesday, September 10, 2024 [Musa Ajit Borno/AP]

The disaster struck on September 10 when a dam holding back a regional river burst its banks. The resulting surge of water inundated half of Maiduguri, causing widespread damage to buildings and infrastructure.

(Al Jazeera)

The affected region is at the centre of a 15-year armed rebellion led by Boko Haram that has already seen millions of displaced people living in camps, making them particularly vulnerable. Maiduguri also serves as a hub for humanitarian operations.

On the other side of the world, wildfires in Bolivia devastated more than 10 million hectares (24.7 million acres) this year, primarily in the tropical east, marking the worst fire season in the country’s history. The burned area is comparable in size with Iceland or Cuba, according to the Tierra Foundation.

Emissions from the fires have severely degraded air quality across much of South America. In September, carbon emissions from the wildfires surpassed the previous record set in 2010, currently reaching more than 100 million tonnes - four times Bolivia’s 2023 carbon emissions from fossil fuels.

(Al Jazeera)

Scientists attribute the rapid spread of these fires to human activity, compounded by hot and dry conditions intensified by fossil fuel-driven climate change. South America has endured consecutive heatwaves and prolonged droughts since last year.

"2024 will be remembered as the year of the worst environmental disaster in Bolivia's history," said Gonzalo Colque, director of the Tierra Foundation.

(Al Jazeera)

October

At the end of October, torrential rain caused severe flooding in Spain, with the Valencia region being the hardest hit. On October 30, a weather station in Chiva recorded 49.1 cm (19 inches) in just eight hours - equivalent to a year’s worth of rainfall, according to AEMET, Spain's meteorological agency.

A large-scale rescue and relief operation was launched as the death toll rose to more than 200. Thousands in Valencia were left without electricity, and transportation services were severely disrupted. Many people were swept away in vehicles and fast-moving floodwaters.

November

As the Northern Hemisphere transitioned into its cooler months, South Korea experienced a full onset of wintry weather. In the final week of November, a storm brought record-breaking snowfall to Seoul, disrupting travel and causing structural damage in the capital and surrounding areas.

Gwanghwamun Square and Gyeongbok Palace are blanketed with snow in Seoul, South Korea, on Wednesday, November 27, 2024 [Ahn Young-joon/AP Photo]

Seoul recorded its heaviest November snowfall since records began more than a century ago. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, on November 28, 16.5cm (6.5 inches) of snow fell in Seoul and nearby regions, surpassing the previous record of 12.4cm (4.8 inches) set on November 28, 1972.

(Al Jazeera)

As the world grapples with the aftermath of 2024’s record-breaking events, the need to mitigate climate change and adapt to its effects has never been clearer.

World Weather Attribution - a global collaboration of scientists which studies how climate change affects extreme weather events - has confirmed the effects of human activities on climate change and these disasters.

Last month ranked as the second-warmest November on record after November 2023.

"We're still in near-record-high territory for global temperatures, and that's likely to stay at least for the next few months," Copernicus climate researcher Julien Nicolas told Reuters.