NASA confirms: 2024, the year of temperature records

The warming of the entire planet is being confirmed from more and more places. Meteorologists say that the situation is alarming, especially since the upward trend in temperatures is maintained. The average temperature on the Earth's surface in 2024 was the highest ever recorded, according to an analysis led by scientists from the American space agency NASA. Global temperatures in 2024 were 1.28 degrees Celsius above the agency's 20th century (1951-1980) reference level. The new record comes after 15 consecutive months (from June 2023 to August 2024) of monthly temperature records - an unprecedented series, according to NASA. NASA scientists estimate that in 2024, the Earth was about 1.47 degrees Celsius warmer than the mid-19th century average (1850-1900). For more than half of 2024, average temperatures were more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above the reference level, and the annual average, with some mathematical uncertainties, could have exceeded that level for the first time, NASA said. "Once again, the temperature record has been shattered - 2024 was the warmest year since records began in 1880," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. "From record-breaking temperatures to the wildfires currently threatening our centers and workforce in California, it has never been more important to understand our changing planet," Nelson added. Scientists have attributed the warming trend of recent decades to carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases, which trap heat in the atmosphere. In 2022 and 2023, Earth saw record increases in carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels, according to a recent international analysis. The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has risen from pre-industrial levels in the 18th century of about 278 parts per million to about 420 parts per million today.