Once again, scientists are sounding the alarm. According to the World Meteorological Organisation’s (WMO) latest State of the Global Climate report, the rise in temperatures, CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere and rising sea levels are reaching new record levels, with impacts that could be irreversible.
‘The clear signs of human-induced climate change reached new heights in 2024, with some of the consequences being irreversible over hundreds if not thousands of years’, according to a new State of the Global Climate report released today, 19 March, from WMO, which also underlined the massive economic and social upheavals from extreme weather.
However, UN chief António Guterres noted that ‘this report shows that limiting long-term global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius is still possible’.
‘Leaders must step up to make it happen — seizing the benefits of cheap, clean renewables for their people and economies – – with new National climate plans due this year,’ he insisted.
Record greenhouse gas concentrations
Atmospheric carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide concentrations are at the highest levels in the last 800,000 years. These gases are responsible for the greenhouse effect that is warming the planet.
Globally, each of the last ten years has been one of the ten hottest years on record. The report said that long-term global warming is currently estimated to be between 1.34 and 1.41 °C compared to the 1850-1900 baseline. It confirmed that 2024 was likely the first calendar year to exceed 1.5°C above the pre-industrial era.
The Paris Agreement, signed in 2015, aimed to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C by the end of the century—yet this threshold is nearly reached, almost 70 years ahead of schedule.
‘While a single year above 1.5 °C of warming does not indicate that the long-term temperature goals of the Paris Agreement are out of reach, it is a wake-up call that we are increasing the risks to our lives, economies and to the planet,’ said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.
Dramatic impact on the oceans
‘Data for 2024 show that our oceans continued to warm, and sea levels continued to rise,’ said Celeste Saulo.
Each of the last eight years has set a new ocean temperature record. In 2024, ocean heat content reached its highest level in the 65-year observational record. Each of the past eight years has set a new record. The rate of ocean warming over the past two decades, 2005-2024, is more than twice that in the period 1960-2005.
The rate of sea-level rise has doubled since satellite measurements began. Between 2015 and 2024, sea levels rose by 4.7 mm per year, or almost 5 cm in 10 years. By comparison, sea levels rose only 2.1 mm per year between 1993 and 2002.
Sea level rise has cascading damaging impacts on coastal ecosystems and infrastructure, with further impacts from flooding and saltwater contamination of groundwater.
Melting glaciers and the cryosphere
‘The frozen parts of Earth’s surface, known as the cryosphere, are melting at an alarming rate: glaciers continue to retreat, and Antarctic sea ice reached its second-lowest extent ever recorded’, she added.
Glacier mass continues to shrink. Last year’s most significant losses were in Norway, Sweden, and the tropical Andes.
Displacement of populations, food and economic crises
Tropical cyclones, floods, droughts, and other hazards in 2024 led to the highest number of new displacements recorded for the past 16 years, destroying homes, critical infrastructure, forests, farmland and biodiversity.
Tropical cyclones, like Cyclone Chido—which caused casualties and economic losses in Mayotte, Mozambique, and Malawi last December—were among the most devastating events of 2024, exacerbating food crises and inflicting massive economic damage.
Improving early warning
In response, WMO and the global community are intensifying efforts to strengthen early warning systems and climate services to help decision-makers and society at large be more resilient to extreme weather and climate.
‘We are making progress but need to go further and need to go faster. Only half of all countries worldwide have adequate early warning systems. This must change’, said Celeste Saulo.