This account treats the date above as the time of the underlying event, not as a publication date. It is confined to what the cited reporting established at that point. Details that were uncertain, attributed, provisional or still developing remain presented on those terms, and no later result is assumed.
What the reporting established
The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) reports on significant global climate findings for 2024. The global temperature data below are presented relative to the pre-industrial level, which uses an average for 1850–1900, and a modern reference period, using the average for 1991–2020.
The estimates for the globe refer to the surface air temperature over land and ocean, and for Europe and the Arctic over land only. Sea surface temperature is computed for the 60°N–60°S domain.
Multiple global records were broken, for greenhouse gas levels, and for both air temperature and sea surface temperature, contributing to extreme events, including floods, heatwaves and wildfires. These data highlight the accelerating impacts of human-caused climate change.
2024 saw unprecedented global temperatures, following on from the remarkable warmth of 2023. It additionally became the first year with an average temperature clearly exceeding 1.5°C above the pre-industrial level – a threshold set by the Paris Agreement to significantly reduce the risks and impacts of climate change.
The page will be updated in stages, as data become available. Edited 17th January 2025 (update of figures 2a, 2b, 13 and associated text to reflect full availability of global datasets for 2024).
This section looks at the global Climate Indicators for which data are available for all or part of 2023. For more details on each, visit the respective Climate Indicator page.
Scope of the record
The record is most useful when read as a contemporaneous snapshot. It identifies the central development, the people or institutions directly involved and the consequences described by the available reporting. Statements made by officials, witnesses or other parties are not converted into independent findings; their source and status remain material to understanding the account.
The evidence also sets limits on the conclusions that can safely be drawn. It does not support speculation about motives, responsibility or subsequent outcomes beyond what was explicitly reported. Figures and operational descriptions can be revised as fuller information emerges, so the numbers and characterisations here belong to the dated record rather than a final historical tally.
