In 2024, there were recorded worldwide many significant climatic anomalies, making this year a record for several key climate indicators. The State of the Climate in 2024 report documents in detail the state and evolution of the climate system on land, in the oceans, cryosphere and in the Earth's atmosphere.

The most prominent anomalies include:

• Global temperatures and humidity:
  • Global surface temperature hits new record for second year in a rowThe last 10 years (2015-2024) are the warmest in instrumental records.
  • The global average lake surface water temperature (LSWT) was +0.52 °C higher as a reference average in the years 1995-2020, which represents the highest anomaly since records began in 1995Regions such as Canada (+0.87°C), Europe (+0.77°C), Africa (+0.37°C) and the Tibetan Plateau (+0.79°C) have experienced the largest LSWT anomalies since 1995.
  • The global average land area in 2024 was record high number of warm days a record low number of cold nights.
  • The total column of water vapor (TCWV) was approximately 5 % higher as the climatological average in the years 1991–2020. The year 2024 was the wettest in history for TCWV, both for the global level, ocean and land, surpassing 2023.
  • Upper troposphere (UTH) humidity anomalies were in 2024 the largest in the history of measurements, which indicates record high absolute humidity.
• Atmospheric composition and the stratosphere:
  • The arctic stratosphere experienced two sudden stratospheric warmings (SSW): one on January 16 and the other on March 4, 2024, which is quite unusual.
  • Stratosphere water vapor (WV) continued to be strongly affected by the eruption of Hunga volcano in January 2022, with persistent positive anomalies in the tropical upper stratosphere and record values in the lower stratosphere.
  • The global amount of carbon monoxide (CO) in 2024 was second highest since 2003, mainly due to exceptionally high emissions from forest fires in South America.
  • In March 2024, it was recorded record high total ozone column in the Arctic, which persisted until autumn.
• Rainfall and drought:
  • Drought in the United States reached in 2024 national record, with 47% of the country affected by moderate to extreme drought, mainly due to a record-breaking warm and dry October.
  • September was exceptionally dry in inland South America and Eastern Europe, especially Ukraine.
  • Storm Boris caused in September 2024 extremely high rainfall totals in Eastern Central Europe (southeastern Germany, southern Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria and Slovakia), with record snow below 2400 m in Austria in September.
• Ice and cryosphere:
  • The average annual anomalies of the active layer thickness (ALT) in six Arctic regions showed positive anomalies, indicating a thicker ALT than the 10-year reference average.
  • In 2024, it was recorded record low sea ice extent in Antarctica.
• Vegetation and biomass:
  • In South America, they were recorded record forest fires, high maximum temperatures and long periods of drought. Venezuela experienced a increase in forest fires by 125 % compared to the average for the years 2001–2023.
  • North America recorded in 2024 +71 % anomaly in biomass combustion, while Canada had the second strongest wildfire season.
  • Anomalies in the date of first leaf bud formation in the United States in 2024 generally showed earlier estimates compared to 2023 and the base period 2011-2020.
• Ocean:
  • In June 2024, a storm began to develop in the North Atlantic marine heat wave (MHW) larger than Western Europe, which persisted until almost the end of the year.
  • The Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC) in the Atlantic continued to be strong in 2024. unusually high, as in 2023, compared to the previous 20 years.

These anomalies highlight ongoing and intensifying changes in the global climate system. JRi

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