New "State of the Climate" report delivers sobering and stunning data
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An array of climate metrics hit fresh records in 2024, a major new report with contributions from hundreds of scientists worldwide shows.
Why it matters: The annual "State of the Climate" is among the most comprehensive looks at global warming's many effects, both worldwide and by region.
Threat level: One takeaway from the peer-reviewed study — published by the American Meteorological Society — is that it's not (just) the heat, but the humidity, with multiple humidity indicators setting new marks.
Stunning stat: "The global average number of high humid heat days ... over land reached a record of 35.6 days more than normal in 2024, surpassing the previous record set in 2023 by 9.5 days," says a summary from the U.K. Met Office meteorological service.
- That metric refers to days when the "wet-bulb temperature" exceeded 90% of normal levels. "Wet bulb" refers to combinations of heat, humidity and other factors that hinder the body's ability to cool itself through sweat.
"Such a dramatic increase in the occurrence of these humid-heat events is bringing more societies into challenging, potentially life-threatening situations," said Kate Willett, a Met Office scientist and co-author of the humidity sections.
The big picture: A few more high-level takeaways...
- Atmospheric concentrations of the major planet-warming gases — CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide — hit new highs. CO2 is now 52% above preindustrial levels.
- 2024 was the hottest year in records dating back to the mid-1800s, beating out 2023, and "[t]he last 10 years (2015–24) are now the warmest 10 in the instrumental record."
- Canada, the U.S. and Mexico all saw their warmest years.
State of play: "The annual sea surface temperature was the highest in the 171-year record, marking the second year in a row that the global ocean set such a record."
- Air temps in the Arctic were the second-highest in 125 years of records, while the maximum reach of Arctic sea ice was the second-smallest in 46 years of satellite observations.
What we're watching: "Unfortunately, it looks like we are seeing yet another year of extreme weather," said Laura Stevens, the climate scientist who edited report sections on North America.
- "So far in 2025, North America has experienced several impactful extreme events, including intense wildfires, record-breaking heat waves, and devastating floods," she said in an interview that AMS published.
