Climate check: Earth passed 1.5C of heating for first time in 2024
The average person was exposed to an extra six weeks of dangerously hot days in 2024. Photograph: Brook Mitchell/Getty Images
The climate emergency pushed global heating beyond the internationally agreed 1.5C target for the first time last year. Global heating is supercharging extreme weather events such as the wildfires raging in southern California, as well as big storms, hurricanes, droughts, and heatwaves. Last year was the hottest on record, with an average temperature 1.6C above preindustrial levels, EU data shows.