2024 Projected to Break Heat Records with Dire Consequences

The year 2024 is shaping up to be the hottest on record, with alarming predictions of increased heat-related deaths worldwide.

According to the EU’s climate change monitoring service, last month marked the hottest June ever recorded, extending a series of unprecedented temperature highs. This trend places 2024 on track to surpass all previous records for global temperatures.

The repercussions of this altered climate have been devastating. Over 1,000 fatalities were reported due to intense heat during the recent haj pilgrimage. Similar tragedies unfolded in New Delhi, enduring an unusually prolonged heatwave, and among tourists in Greece.

Since June 2023, every month has registered as the hottest on record compared to historical averages, as reported by the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). This unrelenting pattern underscores the likelihood that 2024 will outstrip 2023 as the hottest year since records began.

Zeke Hausfather, a research scientist at Berkeley Earth, estimates a 95% probability that 2024 will indeed break all previous temperature records. This surge in temperatures is attributed to both human-induced climate change and the natural El Nino weather phenomenon, which have jointly propelled global temperatures to unprecedented heights.

Climate scientist Friederike Otto from Imperial College London’s Grantham Institute emphasizes the significant probability that 2024 will rank as the hottest year on record. She underscores the distinction between the inevitable El Nino cycle and the controllable human activities that contribute to climate change.

The El Nino phenomenon, characterized by warming eastern Pacific Ocean waters, typically elevates global average temperatures. Recent observations indicate a transition to neutral conditions, with expectations of cooler La Nina conditions later in the year.

C3S’s comprehensive dataset, spanning back to 1940, corroborates that June 2024 was the hottest on record since the pre-industrial period of 1850-1900. This historical comparison reinforces the urgency of addressing greenhouse gas emissions, primarily derived from fossil fuel combustion.

Despite international commitments to mitigate global warming, collective efforts to reduce emissions have fallen short, exacerbating temperature increases over decades. C3S reports that the world’s average temperature over the past twelve months was a record 1.64 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average.

As 2024 unfolds with unprecedented heat levels and tragic consequences, the imperative for global action to curb emissions and mitigate climate change becomes ever more urgent.