With the addition of 2024 as a record-hot year, the past decade has been the hottest in almost 200 years of record-keeping, according to reports from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). This marks the first time since record-keeping began that all of the top 10 hottest years have occurred within a single decade. 2024 was the warmest year on record, surpassing even 2023, with the planet’s surface being approximately 1.55 degrees Celsius warmer than its preindustrial era average. The WMO report, including input from numerous experts and institutions worldwide, highlights the extreme weather events like droughts, storms, and wildfires that displaced hundreds of thousands of people. The rise in greenhouse gases has also reached unprecedented levels, with carbon dioxide levels being the highest in at least two million years. Despite countries’ attempts to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels through the Paris Agreement, the new report warns that while this goal is still within reach, it serves as a wake-up call to the increasing risks to lives, economies, and the planet. The report also mentions that natural climate patterns, such as El Niño and La Niña, contribute to temporary fluctuations in temperature. Additionally, the oceans have absorbed most of the additional heat trapped by greenhouse gases, leading to record-high ocean warmth and devastating consequences for marine life. Sea-level rise has also reached an all-time high, with the speed of increase more than doubling in recent years. The WMO’s work relies on international cooperation among its member countries, including the United States. Despite recent staff position cuts in organizations like NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, their data is still included in the WMO’s report.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/18/climate/global-temperatures-wmo-report.html