Skip to contentExtreme Climate UpdateClimate2024 was Earths hottest year on record, passing a dangerous warming thresholdIts the first time the average temperature topped 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels Almost everywhere around the globe, it was hotter than the average from 1991 to 2020. In some places, such as the Canadian Arctic, temperatures were as much as 5 degrees Celsius (the darkest red) higher. Blue colors mark the few regions where temperatures were cooler than the average.ERA5. Credit: C3S / ECMWF.By Carolyn Gramling1 minute agoIts official: The year 2024 was indeed the hottest on record. It was also the first year in recorded history that Earths average temperature was higher than 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels.Scientists outlined those grim milestones in a report released January 10 by the European Unions Copernicus Climate Change Service. Multiple other global records were smashed throughout 2024, the researchers noted, including for atmospheric greenhouse gas levels, air temperatures and sea surface temperatures.