“The latest planetary health check tells us that Earth is profoundly ill,” the UK Met Office's chief scientist says.
ADVERTISEMENT2024 was the hottest in 175 years of observations, the World Meteorological Organisation’s latest landmark report has confirmed.
Atmospheric concentrations of CO2 are now at the highest levels in the last 800,000 years and globally, each of the past 10 years were individually the ten warmest on record.
The State of the Global Climate report also confirms that last year was likely the first calendar year to be more than 1.5C above the pre-industrial era.
The WMO says it's still possible to keep global average temperatures to within 1.5 degrees. The critical Paris Agreement to limit the worst climate impacts has not been exceeded, it adds, as it is measured over several decades.
Despite this, we’re now seeing “spiralling weather and climate impacts” as the planet heats up. Some of the consequences, according to the report, are irreversible over hundreds if not thousands of years.
Extreme weather is having ‘devastating consequences’
“Data for 2024 show that our oceans continued to warm, and sea levels continued to rise,” says WMO secretary-general Celeste Saulo.
“The frozen parts of Earth’s surface, known as the cryosphere, are melting at an alarming rate: glaciers continue to retreat, and Antarctic sea ice reached its second-lowest extent ever recorded. “Meanwhile, extreme weather continues to have devastating consequences around the world.”
The report found that at least 152 unprecedented extreme weather events took place globally in 2024.
Tropical cyclones, floods, droughts and other hazards led to the highest number of new displacements from extreme weather seen in the last 16 years. These events also contributed to worsening food crises and caused massive economic losses. The “clear signs” of human-induced climate change, the report says, “reached new heights in 2024”.
“The latest planetary health check tells us that Earth is profoundly ill. Many of the vital signs are sounding alarms,” says UK Met Office chief scientist, Professor Stephen Belcher.
“Without serious efforts to heed the warnings, extreme weather events - such as drought, heatwaves and flooding - will continue to worsen.”
What impact did extreme weather have in Europe?
In Europe, 114 unusual and 75 unprecedented extreme weather events displaced 26,800 people, injured 5,600 and led to 111 deaths last year, according to WMO data. Of these, unprecedented weather events - ones that are outside of the historical norm - alone led to 86 deaths and 24,800 people displaced.
These events included 34 heatwaves spanning from Norway, where temperatures over 30C were recorded for the first time in September, to Bulgaria where an intense period of summer was the longest recorded since 1932.
Rain or wet spells made up another 21 of these unprecedented events with a majority of them taking place in Denmark. Between February and March, many areas of Lombardy in Italy experienced the two-month period with the highest rainfall ever recorded.
A total of 9 unprecedented flooding events also hit Europe in 2024 leading to 32 recorded deaths. Four of these events were in Italy - three in Northern Italy in September and October alone.
ADVERTISEMENTPoland, Estonia and Denmark saw unprecedented drought with 4,800 people displaced and four recorded deaths.
Countries need to invest in weather, water and climate services
Elsewhere in the world, storms were supercharged by global warming. Tropical cyclones were responsible for many of the events that had the biggest impact including Typhoon Yagi which hit Viet Nam, the Philippines and southern China in September.
In the US, Hurricanes Helene and Milton made landfall on the west coast of Florida in October, causing tens of billions of dollars in economic losses. Over 200 deaths were associated with exceptional rainfall and flooding from Helene, the most in a mainland US hurricane since Katrina in 2005.
In December, Tropical Cyclone Chido hit Mozambique, Malawi and Mayotte - one of the most powerful to ever hit the French overseas territory. It brought winds of more than 200kph flattening entire neighbourhoods and cutting off power and communications to many communities. Around 100,000 people were displaced in Mozambique.
ADVERTISEMENTProfessor Saulo says that investment in weather, water and climate services is now more important than ever to meet challenges and build more resilient communities.
“WMO and the global community are intensifying efforts to strengthen early warning systems and climate services to help decision-makers and society at large be more resilient to extreme weather and climate,” she adds.
“We are making progress but need to go further and need to go faster. Only half of all countries worldwide have adequate early warning systems."
