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.
President Biden on Wednesday denounced Russia's large-scale Christmas Day attacks on Ukraine that damaged critical energy infrastructure and vowed to continue a U.S. surge in weapons deliveries to Kyiv.
The big picture: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on X called the attacks "inhumane," while Russia's Defense Ministry said the "long-range precision weapons and strike drones on critical energy infrastructure facilities" in Ukraine had achieved the goal of Russian leader Vladimir Putin's forces.
