"unprecedented global temperatures"

January 10, 2025 5:05 AM

Global temperature increases breached 1.5°C for the first time in 2024. Today the European Union's Copernicus Climate Service posted its 2024 Annual Climate Summary, which showed temperatures 1.5°C higher than pre-industrial levels.

"2024 was the warmest year in a multi-dataset record of global temperature going back to 1850...
Multiple global records were broken, for greenhouse gas levels, and for both air temperature and sea surface temperature, contributing to extreme events, including floods, heatwaves and wildfires. These data highlight the accelerating impacts of human-caused climate change."

Reactions from The Conversation, The New York Times, The Financial Times (ungated), CNN, Libération.

“Honestly, I am running out of metaphors to explain the warming we are seeing,” said Copernicus director Carlo Buontempo.

Previously.

posted by doctornemo (24 comments total)

(extremely Homer Simpson voice:)

"It's the coldest year of the rest of your life!"
posted by mrjohnmuller at 5:31 AM on January 10 [9 favorites]

Not a big surprise, I’ve been doomwatching the graphs regularly since June 2023 when this big temperature excursion started. We’ve been at 1.5C since then, but it took till now to hit the “full calendar year” arbitrary goalpost.
posted by notoriety public at 5:50 AM on January 10

If the United States does get Greenland, the average temperature of the States will drop solving all our problems.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 5:57 AM on January 10 [8 favorites]

previously
posted by Lemkin at 6:07 AM on January 10 [1 favorite]

“full calendar year” arbitrary goalpost

I don't think it's completely arbitrary. Calendar years are based on our axial tilt and orbit around the sun, which is the whole engine of our climate.
posted by paper chromatographologist at 6:26 AM on January 10 [5 favorites]

I don't think it's completely arbitrary. Calendar years are based on our axial tilt and orbit around the sun, which is the whole engine of our climate.

Still, it's as equally valid to say "from summer to summer" as it is to say "from winter to winter", and by "from summer to summer" it was a full year of 1.5C as of last summer.

I guess, I'm just expecting a lot of "well it doesn't count yet because of X" kinds of arguments, and registering my frustration in advance.
posted by notoriety public at 6:52 AM on January 10 [5 favorites]

I'm getting really tired of "unprecedented" events.
posted by mollweide at 6:58 AM on January 10 [5 favorites]

“Honestly, I am running out of metaphors to explain the warming we are seeing,” said Copernicus director Carlo Buontempo.

Our house is on fire, we're pouring petrol on it from the inside, while the super-rich laugh and warm their hands?
posted by Absolutely No You-Know-What at 6:59 AM on January 10 [7 favorites]

I'm getting really tired of "unprecedented" events.
I remember waking up to news of the Brexit referendum and thinking that it felt like an opening scene to a near-future dystopian film. This news this morning feels the same way.
posted by Karmeliet at 7:04 AM on January 10 [8 favorites]

Hot enough for ya?
posted by cupcakeninja at 7:07 AM on January 10

"It's the coldest year of the rest of your life!"

Sadly not the coldest winter. As that arctic heats up it starts muscling the jet stream around and then we get all that arctic air which is warmer by arctic standards but still 20F lower than typical at our latitudes. Plus it's dry as fuck. Where you can get lake effect snow by warmer air taking water from the great lakes and dumping it as it crashes into the colder polar air the numbers are probably breaking records but here in Eastern Mass it's dry as a bone.
posted by Your Childhood Pet Rock at 7:34 AM on January 10 [1 favorite]

the speed at which we move from pretending this might not be an issue to rapidly treating it like a crisis would be interesting if this was a show we were watching. Not so much to be living it.

Because we will start seeing rapid actions and for the most part I expect big money to wield a big stick, doing stupid things in the belief it might make a difference for the richest people

none of this matters anymore, just have to live every day as it comes
posted by ginger.beef at 7:44 AM on January 10 [6 favorites]

I took a course on climate change 20 years ago. At that time, we were shown a chart of climate projections at different levels of average temperature increase. As I recall, various climate models were still holding out hope that we could hold warming under 1°C if we tried really really hard. 1.5°C was described as a nightmare scenario. 2°C was described as apocalyptic. The first graph on this page, that depicts global average surface temperature over time, is devastating. It's hard for me to reckon with how much ground we've lost in so little time -- I feel a bit numb about it.

That said, I don't think we can or should stop trying. We've got to try to limit the damage -- and taking useful action is the best way I know to ward off despair.
posted by ourobouros at 8:59 AM on January 10 [9 favorites]

I remember when there was snow on the streets in Toronto during the winter, during the dark ages, way back in like 2018.
posted by seanmpuckett at 9:16 AM on January 10 [1 favorite]

I’ve had a very dark thought while watching coverage of Malibu burning, which I share with some trepidation: the lush garden estates of the super-rich burn really well, and these are the only people that the economy and the government seem to give a fuck about. Maybe a few more Malibu fires is the path to this country taking climate change seriously.
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 9:16 AM on January 10 [4 favorites]

We're still learning the consequences of this, which makes planning for it all that more difficult. That is if you live somewhere that believes this is even happening at all.
posted by tommasz at 11:30 AM on January 10

I took a course on climate change 20 years ago. At that time, we were shown a chart of climate projections at different levels of average temperature increase. As I recall, various climate models were still holding out hope that we could hold warming under 1°C if we tried really really hard. 1.5°C was described as a nightmare scenario. 2°C was described as apocalyptic. The first graph on this page, that depicts global average surface temperature over time, is devastating. It's hard for me to reckon with how much ground we've lost in so little time -- I feel a bit numb about it.

there's a well known metaphor that involves a frog and a pan of water on the stove, you know how it goes
posted by chavenet at 12:22 PM on January 10 [3 favorites]

That’s nothing , I took a course on climate change 35 years ago. Imagine how annoyed I am!
posted by caviar2d2 at 3:07 PM on January 10 [4 favorites]

Maybe a few more Malibu fires is the path to this country taking climate change seriously.

Generally agree that more fires and flooding of wealthier enclaves would help clarify the urgency of the problem. Do the super-rich live in the Malibus? Seems like the real wealth has been moving to Wyoming, New Zealand, places where they can buy water rights and general protection from the poors.

I wonder if the rise in global authoritarianism is less to do with inflation or racism or dislike of incumbents, but more a general feeling that the wheels are coming off and elites needing to protect what they have before the mobs take over, as in Syria and Russia.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 3:08 PM on January 10

OK, maybe Malibu is just the regular rich, not the super rich. All I know is Mel Gibson's house apparently burned down while he was doing an interview with Joe Rogan. (Mel was not in the house)
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 6:23 PM on January 10

Malibu is pretty rich.

I "own" a house in Seattle, and could never be able to afford to sell it and move to Malibu. Pacific Palisades either, though, maybe. But such a loss that all those cool old houses went away in an instant.

I have not spent a ton of time in Cali, though my son is going to college down there, fires to the east and west, (glad he was home for the holidays), but a few years ago we went down to the Monterey Aquarium, Happened to be the final day of the PGA tournament at Pebble Beach. And Carmel by the sea was just so charming, in a "what California used to be in the 60s" kind of way.

Such complete destruction.
posted by Windopaene at 8:04 PM on January 10 [1 favorite]

Fires are just scary.

Reminds me of the giant fire that ripped through Southern Oregon, (Phoenix/Talent), where my wife grew up, and my in-laws lived. Just entire areas gone.

I know we have heard from some mefites, some have lost their homes. I don't pray, but all my thoughts are with you all.
posted by Windopaene at 8:10 PM on January 10 [1 favorite]

I remember waking up to news of the Brexit referendum and thinking that it felt like an opening scene to a near-future dystopian film. This news this morning feels the same way.

I feel that way every time I visit the Bay Area. 25 years out from a dystopian novel.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 5:30 PM on January 11

This winter here in Nunavut is 20 °C warmer than it was just a few years ago. We should be wearing serious winter equipment outside to survive the Arctic cold. These days it is not even necessary to wear mitts or a tucque if you are just walking around the settlement. What will your locality be like when it is 20°C warmer than a few years ago?
posted by SnowRottie at 6:59 AM on January 12