2024 was Houston's hottest year on record
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It may be frigid in parts of the U.S. now, but communities from coast to coast saw record warmth during 2024 — including in parts of Houston.
Why it matters: The year's record-hot temperatures included periods of extreme heat, which is a deadly hazard, and demonstrate how long-term, human-caused climate change is playing out in communities.
Driving the news: The Houston area recorded its hottest year on record in 2024, based on an Axios analysis of more than 80 years of average daily temperature data. This marks the second consecutive year the city has set a new high for warmth.
- The average maximum temperature last year was 82.9 degrees, per the analysis.
The intrigue: The unusually high U.S. temperatures during 2024 match global trends, since last year is expected to go down as the hottest year on record worldwide, beating out 2023.
- Most continents, let alone countries, are expected to set records this year as well. So too are large expanses of the globe's oceans.
- The year saw many extreme weather and climate events that caused widespread damage and reverberated throughout the economy.
Zoom out: Zeke Hausfather, climate research lead at financial services company Stripe, said 2024's record-breaking temperatures raise the question of "whether the era of rapid global warming that started in the 1970s is now speeding up."
- Some prominent climate researchers think the answer is yes.
The bottom line: What is going on globally is also happening at the local level.
What we're watching: Whether 2025 will follow this trend.