Global Climate Crisis Deepens as All Indicators Hit New Highs

The World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) latest climate report, “State of the Global Climate 2024,” released on 19 March 2025, paints a grim picture. It depicts a rapidly warming world, with greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations reaching their highest levels, ocean temperatures at record highs, sea levels continuing to rise, and glaciers and sea ice melting at unprecedented rates.

The annual report shows record changes in all seven climate indicators: global mean surface temperature, global ocean heat content, state of ocean acidification, glacier mass balance, Arctic and Antarctic Sea ice extent, global CO₂ mole fraction, and global mean sea level.

Key findings include:

• Global mean surface temperature. The average global temperature in 2024 was 1.55°c higher than the average for the period from 1850 to 1900, making it the hottest year in the past 175 years. The previous hottest year was 2023, with a temperature 1.45°C higher than the long-term average. Every year from 2015 to 2024 has ranked among the ten hottest years ever recorded. This analysis is based on data from six global temperature datasets.

• Global ocean heat content. The ocean continued to warm in 2024, reaching record-high levels and surpassing the previous high from 2023 by 16 zettajoules (ZJ). Over the past eight years, each year has set a new record for ocean heat content. Records for ocean heat content began in the 1960s. The rate of ocean warming in the past two decades (2005–2024) has been more than double the rate observed from 1960 to 2005.

• Ocean acidification. From 1985 to 2023, the global ocean surface ph has decreased by 0.017 ± 0.001 units per decade. The most recent year for which we have global data is 2023. His decline in ph is known as ocean acidification, and the rate of change matches the estimate in the latest IPCC report.

• Glacier mass balance. Complete data for 2024 is not yet fully available, but preliminary observations indicate that 2023-2024 was another year of extremely negative mass balance worldwide.

• Arctic and Antarctic Sea ice extent. In 2024, the Arctic’s minimum daily sea-ice extent was 4.28 million km² on 11 September, marking the seventh lowest in the 46-year satellite record. His was 1.17 million km² below the 1991–2020 average, nearly the size of South Africa. On 20 February 2024, the Antarctic sea ice reached a minimum daily extent of 1.99 million km², tying for the second-lowest minimum recorded in the satellite era. This marked the third consecutive year that the minimum extent fell below 2 million km².
• Global mean sea level. he rate of sea-level rise has more than doubled since satellite records began. It increased from 2.1 mm per year between 1993 and 2002 to 4.7 mm per year between 2015 and 2024. In 2024, the global average sea level reached its highest point on record since satellite monitoring started in 1993.

• Carbon dioxide concentration in the Earth’s atmosphere. According to the most recent global data, in 2023, the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere reached a new high. t 420.0 ± 0.1 parts per million (ppm), it was 2.3 ppm higher than in 2022 and 151% of the pre-industrialisation level (1750). This concentration of 420 ppm represents 3,276 gigatonnes of CO2 in the atmosphere.

Rising global temperatures have led to an increase in the frequency and severity of extreme weather events worldwide, including heat waves, cold spells, floods, droughts, wildfires, and storms. These climate-driven disasters have displaced millions of people across all regions. Ecosystems—whether terrestrial, freshwater, coastal, or marine—and the services they provide are deteriorating at an unprecedented rate. This degradation limits their ability to support human well-being and weakens their capacity to adapt and build resilience.

The WMO report highlights the actions countries must take over the next decade to mitigate the impacts of climate change and adapt to its effects. One recommendation is to make early warning systems available to all communities, especially the most vulnerable.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has assigned the World Meteorological Organisation and the Office for Disaster Risk Reduction to lead an effort to ensure that early warning systems cover every person on Earth within the next five years.

However, even with improved climate adaptation efforts, climate change will continue unless the root causes are addressed.

The IPCC has stated that current policies are insufficient, as outlined in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Without immediate and substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions across all sectors and regions, it will be impossible to limit global warming to below 1.5°C. Transitioning to renewable and clean energy sources is one effective way to reduce emissions.

Fortunately, renewable energy has experienced significant growth. In 2023, renewable capacity additions increased by nearly 50% from 2022, totalling 510 gigawatts (GW). This marks the highest growth rate in the past two decades. However, to effectively address climate change, climate finance must also grow substantially to support vulnerable countries in mitigating the impacts of climate change.

Learn more about the report: State of the Global Climate 2024