The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) has confirmed that 2024 was the warmest year on record globally. 2024 was also the first calendar year in which the average global temperature exceeded 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, surpassing the 2015 Paris accord target.

The goal of the Paris Accord target is to keep the rise in global surface temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and preferably to 1.5°C. This refers to an average over at least 20 years, and as such, the average over one calendar year is not an indication that the goal has been missed.

Even so, during 2024, human-induced climate change combined with factors such as the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) contributed to “unprecedented heatwaves and heavy rainfall events, causing misery for millions of people.” This is according to Samantha Burgess, Strategic Lead for Climate at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). Ms Burgess was quoted in a press statement released on 10 January 2025.

C3S is implemented on behalf of the European Commission by ECMWF, whose scientists have been monitoring key climate indicators and documenting unprecedented daily, monthly, and annual temperature records over 2024.

Highlights from the C3S report:

• Global surface air temperature. 2024 was the warmest year in global temperature records going back to 1850. According to ECMWF data, the global average temperature of 15.10°C was 0.72°C above the 1991-2020 average, and 0.12°C above 2023, the previous warmest year on record. This is equivalent to 1.60°C above an estimate of the 1850-1900 temperature designated to be the pre-industrial level.
• Ocean surface temperature. In 2024, the annual average sea surface temperature (SST) over the extra-polar ocean reached a record high of 20.87°C, 0.51°C above the 1991–2020 average.
• Heat stress. Extreme temperatures and high humidity contribute to increased levels of heat stress. Much of the Northern Hemisphere experienced more days than average with at least ‘strong heat stress’ during 2024, and some areas saw more days than average with ‘extreme heat stress’.
• Sea ice levels. Around Antarctica, after reaching record-low values for the time of year during eight months of 2023, the sea ice extent reached record or near-record low values again during a large part of 2024.
• Carbon dioxide and methane levels. The atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane reached record annual levels in 2024, at 422 parts per million (ppm) and 1897 parts per billion (ppb) respectively. Carbon dioxide concentrations in 2024 were 2.9 ppm higher than in 2023, whereas methane concentrations were 3 ppb higher.

Other organisations involved in global climate monitoring include NASA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the UK Met Office, Berkeley Earth, and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).

The date of the carefully coordinated release of their data highlighting the exceptional conditions experienced during 2024 narrowly precedes the USA’s expected withdrawal from the Paris agreement.

Access the full C3S report

Sit in on the Copernicus ECMWF press conference

View NOAA’s recap of major climate and extreme weather events across the U.S. in 2024