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Data for 2024 show that our oceans continued to warm, and sea levels continued to rise. The frozen parts of Earth’s surface, known as the cryosphere, are melting at an alarming rate: glaciers continue to retreat, and Antarctic sea ice reached its second-lowest extent ever recorded. Meanwhile, extreme weather continues to have devastating consequences around the world,
Saulo said
Honestly, I’m not quite sure what to do next. Scream these findings from the tops of buildings? Write my comments in capitals? Saying all this while dancing on TikTok
she said in a written statement
We need to stop hitting snooze on our alarm, which is the now regularly occurring record-breaking global temperatures,
she said
One thing to point out very clearly is that one single year above 1.5 degrees doesn't mean that the level mentioned in the Paris agreement had been formally exceeded,
said John Kennedy, WMO's scientific coordinator and lead author of the report
Changes in those regions potentially can affect the kind of overall circulation of the oceans, which affect climate around the world,
he said
Our planet is issuing more distress signals – but this report shows that limiting long-term global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius is still possible. Leaders must step up to make it happen – seizing the benefits of cheap, clean renewables for their people and economies – with new national climate plans due this year,
said UN Secretary-General António Guterres
The latest planetary health check tells us that Earth is profoundly ill
Professor Stephen Belcher, Met Office chief scientist, says
If you look at how weather has progressed since the initiation of the W.M.O. in 1950, you can now see that you can have the forecast on your smartphone,
said Omar Baddour, the W.M.O.’s chief of climate monitoring
It’s been really quite extraordinary to see that warmth continue for so long,
John Kennedy, the scientific coordinator and lead author of the report, said during a call with reportersThe long-term rate of sea-level rise has more than doubled since the start of the satellite record," going from 2.1 mm per year during the 1993-2002 period, to 4.7 mm per year between 2015-2024.
According to the WMO
While a single year above 1.5 degrees of warming does not indicate long-term temperature goals of the Paris Agreement are out of reach, it is a wake-up call that we are increasing the risks to our lives, economies and to the planet,
said WMO secretary general Celeste Saulo
We are making progress but need to go further and need to go faster. Only half of all countries worldwide have adequate early warning systems,
Prof Saulo saidRegardless of methodology used, every fraction of a degree of warming matters and increases risks and costs to society,
Prof Saulo saidOur planet is issuing more distress signals,
said United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a statement
That has never happened before, going back to 1850,
said Prof Chris Hewitt, director of climate services at the WMO
This analysis shows that even the United States, the richest country in the world, cannot escape these growing impacts... which are causing suffering for increasing numbers of Americans."
Bob Ward, from the London School of Economics's climate institute, said