For the second summer in a row, global temperatures broke temperature records, according to the European climate service Copernicus, putting this year on track to be the hottest in recorded history. Specifically, summer 2024 was 0.69 degrees Celsius hotter than the 1991 to 2020 average and was, additionally, 0.03 degrees hotter than summer 2023's record-setting temperatures.
More concerningly, Earth is creeping closer to the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold established by the Paris climate accord in 2015 that experts agree is necessary to avoid greater calamity. Indeed, a recent study found that 1.6 degrees Celsius is the best we can hope for at this point, but even fraction of a degree counts.
