Global temperatures hit a dangerous threshold in 2024, pushing past previous records and raising concerns about the planet’s future. As the clock struck midnight on December 31, scientists confirmed that Earth had just experienced its hottest year on record. This alarming milestone marked a troubling trend of escalating heat levels, with the prior year already holding the title for highest temperatures recorded.
The scorching global average for 2024 was fueled by intense heat waves that disrupted daily life in countries like Bangladesh and India, as well as by warm ocean waters that fueled devastating hurricanes and cyclones. The repercussions of this extreme heat extended to places like Los Angeles, where unprecedented wildfires wreaked havoc.
“We are facing a very new climate and new challenges, challenges that our society is not prepared for,”
emphasized Carlo Buontempo of the Copernicus Climate Change Service. The year 2024 also marked another significant development – it was the first time global temperatures exceeded 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels since industrialization began.
Despite concerted efforts over the past decade to curb emissions and limit warming in line with international agreements such as the Paris accord, achieving this goal has proven elusive. Carbon dioxide emissions reached record highs in 2024, showing no signs of abating despite substantial investments in clean energy technologies.
An analysis revealed that if emission reduction efforts had commenced earlier, such as in 2005 or even at the adoption of the Paris agreement in 2015, limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius would have been more feasible. However, delaying action until now would necessitate drastic cuts deemed nearly impossible by experts.
“It was guaranteed we’d get to this point where the gap between reality and the trajectory we needed for 1.5 degrees was so big it was ridiculous,”
remarked David Victor from the University of California. The challenge now lies in determining alternative targets or strategies to guide nations’ climate ambitions beyond aiming for a specific temperature increase.
The initial target set at Paris agreement negotiations aimed to hold warming
“well below”
2 degrees Celsius while striving to limit it to 1.5 degrees Celsius – an ambitious objective that prompted various sectors like automakers and utilities to consider emission reductions seriously.
However, this aspirational goal exposed deep divides among nations regarding their responsibilities in curbing emissions – particularly between developed countries advocating stringent measures and emerging economies wary of hampering their growth by curtailing fossil fuel use.
The debate surrounding whether to maintain focus on limiting warming to within a certain threshold continues amidst conflicting scientific opinions on feasibility versus urgency. While some argue for realistic goals aligning with current emission trajectories, others stress preserving ambitious targets due to their potential life-saving impact on vulnerable populations and ecosystems.
Even with uncertainties surrounding attaining previous climate benchmarks like limiting warming below certain thresholds, there remains consensus among experts about accelerating efforts towards zero-emission economies worldwide.
