Hottest year on record sent planet past key target 1.5C of heating for first time in 2024
The IndependentSign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Get our free Climate email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The milestone was confirmed by the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service, which said the climate crisis is pushing the planet's temperature to levels never before experienced by modern humans. "The trajectory is just incredible," C3S director Carlo Buontempo said, describing how every month in 2024 was the warmest or second-warmest for that month since records began. The planet's average temperature in 2024 was 1.6C higher than in 1850-1900, the "pre-industrial period" before humans began burning carbon dioxide-emitting fossil fuels on a large scale, C3S said. Chukwumerije Okereke, a professor of global climate governance at Britain's University of Bristol, said the 1.5C milestone should serve as "a rude awakening to key political actors to get their act together".