WMO: 2024 is on track to be the warmest year on record

November 7, 2024; World Meteorological Organization

The year 2024 is on track to be the warmest year on record, with the global average near surface temperature even higher than in 2023, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). 

WMO’s global temperature analysis covers January to September 2024 and is based on six international datasets to provide a consolidated temperature assessment. WMO provided the information to UN Secretary-General António Guterres ahead of the UN Climate Change conference, COP29, in Baku, Azerbaijan.  

“Today, the World Meteorological Organization and partners tell us that 2024 is on track to be the hottest year ever recorded – almost two months before it ends,” said Mr Guterres. “Humanity’s torching the planet and paying the price.“

More details will be provided in the WMO’s State of the Climate 2024 Update, released on 11 November 2024 at COP29. This will address key climate indicators including the global average near surface temperature, ocean heat, sea level rise, sea ice and glaciers. It will also provide information on extreme weather and climate events and impacts on sustainable development.  

WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo will present the highlights of the State of the Climate Update at a press conference at 1400 Baku time (1000 GMT). It will be webcast by UNFCCC. The update will also be presented on the same day at COP29 at Earth Information Day.

Ahead of the release of the State of the Climate 2024 Update, WMO issued a State of Global Climate Services report on progress over the past five years in the provision of climate information and services to support adaptation and cope with increasingly extreme weather.

International Datasets

WMO uses datasets based on climatological data from observing sites and ships and buoys in global marine networks, developed and maintained by the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, the United Kingdom’s Met Office Hadley Centre and the University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit and the Berkeley Earth group.  

WMO also uses reanalysis datasets from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and its Copernicus Climate Change Service, and the Japan Meteorological Agency. Reanalysis combines millions of meteorological and marine observations, including from satellites, using a weather model to produce a more complete analysis of the state of the atmosphere. The combination of observations with modelled values makes it possible to estimate temperatures at any time and in any place across the globe, even in observationally-sparse areas such as the polar regions and oceans.

According to the ERA5 dataset from Copernicus Climate Change Service, October 2024 was the second warmest October on record, after October 2023. Information from the other international datasets will be available in due course.

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