The year 2024 is set to become the hottest on record, capping a decade of unprecedented heat fuelled by human activities, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has said.
According to the world body, Greenhouse gas levels continue to grow to record observed highs, locking in even more heat for the future.
“Today I can officially report that we have just endured a decade of deadly heat. The top ten hottest years on record have happened in the last ten years, including 2024,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres in his New Year message.
“This is climate breakdown — in real time. We must exit this road to ruin — and we have no time to lose. In 2025, countries must put the world on a safer path by dramatically slashing emissions, and supporting the transition to a renewable future,” Guterres said.
WMO will publish the consolidated global temperature figure for 2024 in January.
The organisation will also publish its entire State of the Global Climate 2024 report in March 2025.
“In my first year as WMO Secretary-General, I have issued repeated Red Alerts about the state of the climate,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo. “WMO marks its 75th anniversary in 2025 and our message will be that if we want a safer planet, we must act now. It’s our responsibility. It’s a common responsibility, a global responsibility,” she declared.
“Every fraction of a degree of warming matters, and increases climate extremes, impacts and risks. Temperatures are only part of the picture. Climate change plays out before our eyes on an almost daily basis in the form of increased occurrence and impact of extreme weather events,” Saulo said.
