2024 Was the Hottest Year on Record — Here’s What Scientists Say That Means for Earth

Tallies from NASA and other meteorological organizations around the world are reporting that 2024 was the hottest year on record.

According to NPR, meteorological associations recently released global temperature analyses, revealing Earth has warmed approximately 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above temperatures in the 1800s — before humans began burning large amounts of fossil fuels.

These findings are especially significant given that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published a special report in 2018 stating that Earth would be at greater risk for more extreme heat waves and hurricanes, as well as a significant loss of biodiversity, should warming surpass 1.5 degrees Celsius. 

NPR noted, however, that this number is a long-term average — meaning that a single year’s temperature increase does not necessarily mean Earth has reached a tipping point.

According to the UN’s Emission Gap report published in October 2024, the planet is predicted to warm by about 3 degrees Celsius (5.4 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial temperatures before the end of the 21st century should there be no significant cuts to greenhouse gas emissions

As for the top producers of greenhouse gases?

A 2022 report from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stated that 31% of greenhouse gas emissions are due to “Residential and Commercial” use, which included things like heat, refrigeration and air conditioning. Approximately 30% are from burning fossil fuels for industrial purposes; 29% are from gas used to fuel vehicles like cars and airplanes and about 10% came from agriculture — including emissions from livestock.

While there have been several theories about the contributing factors to Earth’s rising temperatures — including El Niño cycles, cloud patterns caused by ships and even recent volcanic eruptions —  many in the scientific community believe the effects of these variables pale in comparison to man-made greenhouse gas emissions.

“Don’t get distracted by year-to-year variability,” Andrew Dessler, a climate scientist at Texas A&M University, tells NPR. “As long as we’re dumping greenhouse gas into the atmosphere, the climate’s going to get warmer. And that’s going to have enormous impacts on people’s lives.”

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According to Climate.gov, 2024 saw 27 “weather and climate disasters” in the U.S. alone — second only to 2023, which saw 28. These disasters included wildfires, tornadoes, multiple hurricanes (including a category 4), flooding and drought. The events caused at least $1 billion dollars in damages.