2024 was alarmingly hot all over the world
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Map: World Weather Attribution
2024 will be the second straight "hottest year" on record. But it wasn't supposed to be as hot as it was, coming in far ahead of 2023's alarming global temperature spike.
Threat level: For reasons climate scientists don't yet fully understand, 2024 is likely to temporarily eclipse the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C temperature target, when compared to preindustrial levels.
Between the lines: Earth's extreme heat can be partially explained by human-caused warming, the lingering effects of a strong El Niño event, and other factors. But the truth is, researchers aren't completely sure why the planet's fever has increased faster than anticipated.
- The unsettling possibility in play is that climate change is accelerating, which implies that tipping points, such as the shutdown of major ocean currents, are closer than once thought.
The latest: People worldwide suffered an average of 41 extra days of dangerous heat this year because of climate change, according to a report out Friday from scientists at World Weather Attribution and Climate Central.
The big picture: Millions of people endured stifling heat this year.
- Northern California and Death Valley baked. Sizzling daytime temperatures scorched Mexico and Central America. Heat endangered already vulnerable children in West Africa.
- Skyrocketing southern European temperatures forced Greece to close the Acropolis. In South and Southeast Asian countries, heat forced school closures. Earth experienced some of the hottest days ever measured and its hottest-yet summer, with a 13-month heat streak that just barely broke.
