2024 sets global heat record, surpasses climate benchmarks
NASA confirms that 2024 was the warmest year on record, with a temperature 1.1 degrees Celsius higher than the 20th-century average.
NASA announced that the Earth's average surface temperature in 2024 was the highest on record. Global temperatures were 1.1 degrees Celsius higher than the 20th-century baseline level, surpassing the record set in 2023. "Once again, the temperature record has been shattered — 2024 was the hottest year since record keeping began in 1880," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.
Record temperatures and their effects
NASA scientists estimate that in 2024, Earth was about 1.4 degrees Celsius warmer than the mid-19th-century average. For more than half of the year, average temperatures exceeded 1.5 degrees Celsius above the baseline. "The Paris Agreement on climate change sets forth efforts to remain below 1.5 degrees Celsius over the long term," said Gavin Schmidt, director of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies.
The warming trend is driven by greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. In 2024, Earth was 1.4 degrees Celsius warmer than in the 19th century. "We’re already seeing the impact in extreme rainfall, heat waves, and increased flood risk, which are going to keep getting worse as long as emissions continue," warned Schmidt. NASA uses data from thousands of meteorological stations and instruments on ships and buoys.
Independent analyses by NOAA, Berkeley Earth, the Hadley Centre, and Copernicus Climate Services also confirm that 2024 was the warmest year on record. Each of these institutions employs different methodologies, but all point to a continuing warming trend. Full NASA data is available at GISS, NASA's laboratory in Maryland.
