2024 is officially the first year on record where the average global temperature exceeded 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Three of the five leading research groups monitoring global temperatures reported that temperatures are at least 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
On December 12, 2015, 196 Parties at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 21) in France signed an agreement to “limit global temperatures to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.” However, global temperatures have already surpassed this mark and continue to rise.
At the recent COP29 in Azerbaijan, progress was made in increasing climate funds to at least $300 billion per year by 2035. However, the pace of action remains too slow and insufficient to meet climate targets.
The past year’s extreme heat, intensified storms, wildfires, and record ocean temperatures provide a glimpse of the future if global emissions are not urgently reduced.
“The data is clear—we are now in uncharted territory,” said a climate scientist from the World Meteorological Organization. “This should be a wake-up call for global leaders to act decisively in cutting fossil fuel emissions and scaling up renewable energy.”
As nations prepare for upcoming climate negotiations, the urgency to keep long-term warming below 1.5°C is more pressing than ever. Scientists warn that failure to act could lock the planet into a future of irreversible climate consequences.