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In 2024, people across the globe experienced an alarming 41 additional days of dangerously high temperatures, a stark reminder of the intensifying effects of human-caused climate change. Scientists from World Weather Attribution and Climate Central released a comprehensive report detailing how climate change significantly amplified extreme weather events this year, from relentless heat waves to devastating storms and floods.
The findings underscore the deepening climate crisis and its deadly consequences. 2024 is expected to be recorded as the hottest year on Earth, with heat-related events, ranging from scorching heatwaves to intense tropical cyclones, wreaking havoc on communities worldwide.
Record-Breaking Heat and Climate Disasters
Northern California and Death Valley faced some of the highest temperatures ever recorded, testing the limits of human endurance and infrastructure. Meanwhile, southern Europe, including Greece, implemented drastic measures in response to extreme heat, temporarily closing the Acropolis to protect visitors and workers from life-threatening conditions.
West Africa saw children and vulnerable populations suffering the most, facing severe health risks due to the extreme heat. In South and Southeast Asia, schools were forced to shut down in several countries to protect students from the oppressive conditions, further demonstrating how climate change disrupted daily life and education.
The summer of 2024 marked the culmination of a 13-month streak of high temperatures, with experts confirming that it was the hottest summer in recorded history. The climate crisis is no longer a distant threat; it is a present reality with widespread, lasting consequences.
The Science Behind the Heat
The research team conducted an in-depth heat analysis, comparing 2024’s temperatures to a world without climate change. The results were striking, with some areas experiencing over 150 days of extreme heat. Notably, the poorest countries, especially in the Global South, endured the harshest conditions, highlighting the inequality in climate impacts.
Kristina Dahl, vice president of climate science at Climate Central, pointed out that these regions are bearing the brunt of the crisis, with higher numbers of extreme heat days contributing to escalating health risks and fatalities. Many of these heat-related deaths, however, remain unreported, making the true human cost of climate change even more difficult to grasp.
Friederike Otto, a climate scientist from Imperial College, emphasized the devastating role of climate change in the events of 2024, noting that it played a major role in intensifying heat waves, droughts, heavy rainfall, and tropical cyclones, which have claimed thousands of lives and displaced millions.
A Stark Warning on Global Warming
As global temperatures rise, the planet edges ever closer to exceeding the Paris Agreement’s target of limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. While Earth is not yet officially above this threshold, scientists warn that it could temporarily cross this critical limit in the near future. If global temperatures remain elevated, this could become a sustained reality, with catastrophic consequences for ecosystems and communities.
In 2024, researchers analyzed 29 extreme weather events, including heatwaves, floods, and storms, that claimed more than 3,700 lives and displaced millions of people. A staggering 26 of these events were directly linked to human-driven climate change, with rising ocean temperatures and warmer air playing key roles in intensifying the storms and rainfall.
Although the El Niño phenomenon contributed to some of these extreme events, climate scientists agree that the overriding factor was human-caused global warming.
Preparing for the Future
As extreme weather events become increasingly frequent and severe, experts urge immediate action to reduce carbon emissions and build resilience to climate impacts. Jennifer Francis, a climate scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center, emphasized that these extreme weather events will only become more frequent, intense, and deadly unless global efforts to lower greenhouse gas emissions intensify.
However, there is a glimmer of hope. Julie Arrighi from the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Center stressed that the worst impacts of climate change are not inevitable. With global cooperation, nations can reduce climate risks by preparing and adapting to changing conditions.
But as Friederike Otto cautioned, “As long as the world keeps burning fossil fuels, this will only get worse.” The urgency of addressing climate change has never been clearer, and the time for action is now.
The data for this article was sourced from the Annual Report of World Weather Attribution.
