The European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) made an alarming revelation about the climate change in the world. A significant climate milestone is achieved by us in 2024, and yes it is not a celebratory one. The bygone year has become the first full year in which global temperatures exceeded 1.5 degree Celsius above the pre-industrial levels.
This demands for an urgent need to combat climate change. The average global temperature in 2024 was recorded 1.6 degrees Celsius higher than the baseline period of 1850-1900 (the pre-industrial period before humans started burning CO2 emitting fossil fuels at a large scale). To be noted, the nature of the temperature rise was unprecedented, with every month in 2024 being the warmest or second warmest on record. It also marks the past decade being ranked the hottest period on Earth.
Crossing the 1.5-degree threshold, however does not violate the long term goals of the Paris Agreement. As it refers to averaged temperatures over multiple decades. Yet the data is troubling for the world. For, the greenhouse gas emissions are causing the global temperature rise to levels that have never been experienced by humans and can lead to catastrophic climate ramifications.
Well, we can witness the impacts in the beginning of the year itself. The intensified events are visible enough with California currently battling constant wildfires claiming lives and property. In 2024, countries like Bolivia and Venezuela were threatened with fires, while flood hits Spain, Sudan and Nepal, and the heatwaves that killed thousands in Mexico and Saudi Arabia. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the US faced numerous climate disasters in 2024, each of them caused damage exceeding $1 billion.
To avoid further damage or the verge of a warning eve, the experts stress upon immediate actions. The nations must stay firm to their commitments to reduce emissions and combat the climate change effectively. Carlo Buontempo, director of C3S stated, “It’s not a done deal. We have the power to change trajectory from now on.”
Thus, we still have a chance. In 2025, the need to address challenges in front of us becomes more of a serious concern. Because we are at a stage when we will soon go past the Paris goal too. It is time to emphasize on Sustainable practices and environmental superintendence. If it continues the way it is at present, then we will have to face critical repercussions. And then, things might go out of hand. Therefore, the world should come together against climate changes.
