In just one year, global warming reached a critical 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Sea level rise continues to accelerate, signaling a deepening climate crisis.
New data confirms the rapid advance of global warming
Is global warming real? Are the warnings exaggerated? According to recent data, there’s little room for doubt. Between 2012 and 2024, the rate of global warming has nearly doubled compared to the 1980s.
Two new global warming indicators
The 2024 edition of Indicators of Global Climate Change, a peer-reviewed update published in Earth System Science Data and supported by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), offers a detailed snapshot of the climate system and the influence of human activity.
The study brings together insights from more than 60 scientists worldwide and highlights the urgent need to update climate monitoring data in a fast-changing environment.
This year’s update adds two new key indicators to the original eight: sea level rise and land-based precipitation.
Earth’s energy imbalance is growing
The leading causes of CO₂ emissions remain deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels. Over the past decade, human activities have released an average of 53 billion tons of CO₂ per year into the atmosphere.
The indicators clearly show that these activities are driving a growing energy imbalance on Earth, leading to a faster rise in sea levels.
One notable finding: emissions from international air travel, which had plummeted during the pandemic, have now returned to pre-pandemic levels.
Global warming remains steady and unchecked
Compared to the 2021 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), global temperatures have continued to climb. The report concludes that current climate policies and actions are not enough to curb global warming.
In 2024, the global surface temperature rose by 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Of this, 1.36°C is directly linked to human activity. While this doesn’t mean a permanent +1.5°C rise, it signals a dangerous trajectory.
Sea level rise is accelerating
Between 2019 and 2024, global sea level rose by 26 millimeters, or approximately 4.3 millimeters per year. That’s more than double the average annual rise of 1.8 millimeters observed since the start of the 20th century.
The solutions are well known in theory but too often ignored in practice: transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy and sustainable land use are essential.
The pace of climate change depends on our collective choices. Without decisive action, emissions will continue to rise, and the impacts of global warming will grow even more severe.
