Your support helps us tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to big tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the finances of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word,’ which shines a light on American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know the importance of analyzing the facts of messaging. .
At such a critical moment in American history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to continue sending journalists to tell both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to block Americans from our reporting and analysis with a paywall. We believe that quality journalism should be available to everyone, and paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes a difference.
In 2024, the world suffered an additional 41 days of dangerous heat, causing catastrophic disasters that scientists say would be nearly impossible without climate crisis.
Scientists also say that 26 of the 29 worst disasters this year have been exacerbated by the climate crisis caused by the use of fossil fuels.
The disasters, which have included hurricanes, floods, wildfires and droughts, mark a dangerous “new normal” caused by rising global temperatures, according to a new report released by the World Weather Attribution, or WWA, and Climate Central late last week.
“Influences fossil fuel “Warming has never been clearer or more devastating than in 2024,” said Dr. Friederike Otto, co-founder of WWA and Senior Lecturer in Climate Science at Imperial College London.
“Extreme weather has killed thousands, forced millions from their homes and caused unrelenting suffering. We know exactly what we need to do to prevent things from getting worse: stop burning fossil fuels.”
This year, there were record temperatures in the world, and the hottest day in history was recorded on July 22. An additional 41 days of dangerous heat – defined as temperatures within 10 percent of the 1991-2020 baseline – exposed many millions of people to conditions that threaten human health, especially in vulnerable regions.
The volunteer team of international scientists who prepared the new report compared daily temperatures around the world in 2024 with temperatures that would be expected without the climate crisis.
They found that some regions experienced as many as 150 days or more of extreme heat due to the climate crisis.
“Heat waves are by far the deadliest extreme event,” Dr Otto said.
She added that “if we cannot convincingly communicate” that many people are dying, “it is much more difficult to raise that awareness”.
This year is set to be the hottest on record, surpassing 2023, and could be the first time the global average temperature has exceeded 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.
Reaching this milestone serves as a dire warning that the world is on its way to breaching the safe limit agreed in the Paris Agreement.
Not only heat waves, the world has suffered a series of catastrophic disasters this year. In Africa, floods in Sudan, Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad have killed at least 2,000 people and displaced millions.
The report warns that if global warming reaches 2C – a scenario that could play out as early as the 2040s – similar extreme rainfall could become an annual event, devastating communities and infrastructure.
The Amazoncalled the “lungs of the planet”, experienced Frone of its worst droughts in historydriven by climate change, making it 30 times more likely. The drought has pushed the Amazon closer to an irreversible tipping point where the forest could transition to a drier state, leading to massive tree die-offs and the release of huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Further south, Brazil’s Pantanal wetland, one of the world’s richest ecosystems, has suffered a historic forest fire season fueled by the climate crisis. Scientists found that the hot, dry and windy conditions that fueled the fires were 40 percent more severe due to global warming.
in the US, Hurricane Helena tore through six stateskilling 230 people and becoming one of the deadliest storms to hit continental America in decades.
The report said climate change caused the high sea temperatures that fueled Helena 200-500 times more likely and increased rainfall by 10 percent. Just a few weeks later, Hurricane Milton hit the Southeast, and a quick analysis showed that it too was boosted by ocean warming.
“These storms are getting stronger and more destructive because of climate change,” said Daniel Gilford, a climate scientist at Climate Central. “Human-caused ocean warming increases hurricane wind speeds, allowing them to average a full category higher.”
A new report paints a bleak picture of the future, warning that unless fossil fuel emissions are urgently reduced, the number of dangerously hot days will continue to increase year on year, as will the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events.
“Almost everywhere on Earth, daytime temperatures high enough to threaten human health have become more common due to climate change,” said Joseph Giguere, research associate at Climate Central. “Inhabitants of many countries are now exposed to additional weeks of dangerous heat that would be nearly impossible without global warming.”
The report also warns that the effects of the climate crisis are increasingly overshadowing natural weather patterns, such as El Niño, which traditionally play a key role in triggering extreme events. While El Niño contributed to some of the extreme weather seen in 2024, the report argues that the climate crisis was the dominant factor in most cases, including the Amazon drought and historic floods in Africa.
“This annual report reads like a failed record,” said Ben Clarke, a research fellow at the Environmental Policy Center at Imperial College. “The world is not reducing emissions or preparing for climate change fast enough. The consequences are record-breaking extreme weather events that cause death, displacement and loss of livelihoods.”
Scientists are urging governments to prioritize a rapid transition to renewable energy sources and increase efforts to adapt to worsening climate impacts.
“Another devastating year of extreme weather has shown that we are not well prepared to live with 1.3-1.5°C of warming,” said Julie Arrighi, program director at the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre.
“We have the knowledge and technology to move away from fossil fuels towards renewable energy,” added Dr. Otto. “Solutions have been in front of us for years.
“In 2025, every country needs to step up, not only to reduce emissions, but also to prepare for the extreme weather that is already here.”