2024 will likely be the warmest year on record globally, with the warming trend expected to be more than 1..5 degrees above pre-industrial levels, according to the European Climate Observatory Copernicus, which reported on Monday.
The November 2024, for instance, was the second-warmest November worldwide, with an average surface air temperature of 14.10 degrees Celsius, 0.73 degrees above the 1991-2020 November average. Moreover, the month was 1.62 degrees above the pre-industrial level, making it the 16th month in a 17-month period when the global average surface air temperature exceeded 1.5 degrees above the pre-industrial level.
“With the Copernicus data from the penultimate month of the year, we can now confirm with a high degree of certainty that 2024 will be the warmest year on record and the first calendar year to surpass the 1.5°C mark,” said Samantha Burgess, deputy director of the Copernicus Climate Observatory. “While this does not mean the Paris Agreement has been broken, it does mean that ambitious climate protection measures are more pressing than ever,” Burgess added.