January

In 2024, the world experienced the warmest January on record, with an average surface air temperature of 13.14C. This is 0.12C above the previous temperature record for the warmest January, set in 2020.

February 2024 was the warmest February on record globally, with an average ERA5 surface air temperature of 13.54°C, 0.81°C above the 1991-2020 average for February and 0.12°C above the temperature of the previous warmest February, in 2016.

The month was 1.77°C warmer than an estimate of the February average for 1850-1900, the designated pre-industrial reference period.

Earth’s warmest day ever

July 22, 2024, was Earth’s hottest day on record. The daily global average temperature reached a new high, at 17.16 degrees Celsius (62.9 degrees Fahrenheit), according to Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) data, which began in 1940, and several other agencies. This surpassed the 2023 record of 17.08C (62.8F) and the 2016 record of 16.79C (62.2F).

The global average temperature is the average across all the hottest regions, coldest regions and everywhere in between. This metric is a crucial indicator of the changes occurring within Earth’s complex systems.

August 2024

August brought the warmest summer since records began in the Northern Hemisphere to a close, the European Union’s climate change monitoring service said.

Meanwhile, in the Southern Hemisphere, Australia recorded its hottest winter day on August 26, with Yampi Sound, Kimberley, Western Australia, reaching 41.6C, and its warmest August on record. The area-averaged mean temperature for winter was 1.48C above the 1961-1990 average, making it the second-warmest winter on record.

November 2024

The Northern Hemisphere had its second-warmest November on record, at 1.92°C (3.46°F) above average. The November global surface temperature was 1.34°C (2.41°F) above the 20th-century average of 12.9°C (55.2°F). November 2024 marked the 48th consecutive November (since 1977) with temperatures at least nominally above the 20th-century average.

It was also the second-warmest November for global ocean surface temperatures.

These were all slightly cooler than the record warm Northern Hemisphere of November 2023. The Arctic region was 4.23°C (7.61°F) above average, its second-warmest November on record.

Source: Aljazeera

Published in Dawn, Young World, January 11th, 2025