AGENCIES

2024 was the hottest year on record, breaking the previous record set in 2023 and pushing the world over a critical climate threshold, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

All of the 10 hottest years since 1850 have occurred in the past decade.

The data supports separate figures released by European Union scientists this week that also found 2024 as the hottest in recorded history. It also showed that the year was 1.6C (2.8F) hotter than pre-industrial times, the first time the temperature went beyond the internationally-agreed threshold of keeping long-term temperatures below a 1.5C (2.7F) rise.

However, Noaa data shows the year was 1.46C (2.6F) warmer than the era prior to humans burning huge volumes of planet-heating fossil fuels.

Nasa, which also released its temperature data yesterday, concurs that 2024 was a record year, being 1.47C (2.6F) hotter than the pre-industrial era.

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