2024 was the warmest year on record for the planet Earth, breaking all previous temperature records. The 2015 Paris Climate Pact set a long-term warming limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) since the late 1800s, which was exceeded in 2024, according to the European Commission’s Copernicus Climate report.

The 1.5 degree Celsius threshold is a warning sign, not simply a statistic. According to the news agency Associated Press, climate scientist Victor Gensini of Northern Illinois University said in an email, “To surpass it even for a single year demonstrates how dangerously close we are to breaching the limits set by the Paris Agreement.”

According to records, the last ten years have been the warmest decade in the previous 1,25,000 years. It was easily an eighth of a degree Celsius (more than a fifth of a degree Fahrenheit) warmer in 2024 than the worldwide average of 2023. According to the analysis, the next year will be the hottest of them all, thus things are certain to become worse. Due in part to the firestorm in Los Angeles, the United States may have already experienced catastrophic circumstances in January 2025.

With an average temperature of 17.16 degrees Celsius (62.89 degrees Fahrenheit), July 10, 2024, was declared the hottest day in history. Marshall Shepherd, a professor of meteorology at the University of Georgia, said that “this is a warning light going off on the Earth’s dashboard that requires immediate attention.”

The increase was 1.57 degrees Celsius (2.83 degrees Fahrenheit) in Japan, 1.53 degrees Celsius (2.75 degrees Fahrenheit) in the UK, and 1.6 degrees Celsius (2.89 degrees Fahrenheit) in the Copernicus team. These conclusions should be confirmed by U.S. institutions such as NASA and NOAA.

The main cause of the increase

The buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is the main cause of these high temperatures. Temperatures, sea levels, and the melting of glaciers and ice sheets are all consequences of the accumulation of greenhouse gases, according to Samantha Burgess, strategic climate lead at Copernicus.

The mechanism by which greenhouse gases trap heat close to the Earth’s surface, warming the planet, is known as the “greenhouse effect.” The Earth is becoming warmer than it has ever been as a result of the excessive combustion of coal, oil, and gasses.

Additional Cautionary Notes for the Next Year

According to scientists, 2025 might be the hottest year despite the La Nina cooling influence. The warmest start of a year has already occurred in January 2025, according to Copernicus.

According to Copernicus director Carlo Buontempo, “our society is unprepared for the very new climate and challenges that we are facing.”

It’s like viewing the conclusion of a bleak science fiction movie. Climate scientist Michael Mann of the University of Pennsylvania said, “We are now reaping what we sowed.”