The average global temperature anomaly in 2024 surpassed the critical 1.5°C threshold for the first time, signaling a significant milestone in the planet’s ongoing warming trend. This development, highlighted by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), marks a clear step into a phase of sustained global warming.
The 1.5°C limit, a target established under the 2015 Paris Agreement, aimed to prevent the worst impacts of climate change by keeping global temperature rise below this level compared to pre-industrial times (1850-1900). However, the WMO confirmed that the annual average global temperature in 2024 was 1.55°C above pre-industrial levels, based on six independent datasets.
The European Commission’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) added that 18 of the last 19 months had exceeded the 1.5°C threshold. January 2025 reached an unprecedented 1.75°C of warming despite the cooling influence of the ongoing La Niña phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean, which typically moderates global temperatures.
Scientists have long warned that surpassing the 1.5°C limit could lead to more frequent and severe extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and irreversible damage to ecosystems. The fact that monthly averages have consistently breached this threshold underscores the urgent need for accelerated global action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate impacts.
As the world grapples with this new climate reality, researchers and policymakers are now tasked with not just limiting further warming but also adapting to the changes that are already underway.