2024: record-breaking watershed year for global climate - Met Office

2024 was the warmest year on record globally and the first year that was likely more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels: a stark reminder global temperatures are continuing to rise.

Last year recorded the highest temperature in any year since 1850, and it will be the eleventh year in succession in the HadCRUT data series that has equalled or exceeded 1.0°C above the pre-industrial average period (1850-1900).

The global average temperature for 2024 was 1.53±0.08°C above the 1850-1900 global average, according to the HadCRUT5 temperature series, collated by the Met Office, the University of East Anglia and the National Centre for Atmospheric Science. 2024 is therefore the warmest year on record and is likely the first calendar year exceeding 1.5°C. 2023’s value of 1.46°C exceeded the previous warmest year – 2016 - by 0.17°C, making 2024 and 2023 the warmest and second-warmest years on record.

A number of global climate centres will be releasing their 2024 average temperature figures today.

The latest figures highlight how the world is getting closer to breaching the Paris Agreement target of 1.5°C, which considers the longer-term average temperature.

Commenting on the 2024 global temperature announcement, Minister for Climate Kerry McCarthy said: “There is much more work to be done to keep 1.5°C within reach and prevent climate catastrophe. The scale of the challenge is huge, but through collective action we can deliver change at the scale and pace required."

Colin Morice of the Met Office said: “A single year exceeding 1.5°C above pre-industrial does not mean a breach of the Paris Agreement 1.5°C guard rail – that would require a temperature of at least 1.5°C on average over a longer period. However, it does show that the headroom to avoid an exceedance of 1.5°C, over a sustained period, is now wafer thin.”