Last year, the global average temperature was recorded as the hottest year in the history of climate observation.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) noted in a report on the 10th (local time) that the Earth's average temperature last year was observed to have risen by 1.55 degrees compared to the industrial transfer period (1850–1900).
WMO confirms the increase in the Earth's temperature annually based on observational data received from six global meteorological agencies, including the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) under ECMWF analyzed a 1.6-degree rise, while the Korea Meteorological Administration evaluated it as a 1.53-degree rise.
Last year marked the first time that the annual average global temperature exceeded the 1.5-degree threshold compared to the industrial transfer period. This surpassed a limit set during the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21) where countries agreed to take measures to prevent climate disasters. During the Paris Agreement, the international community aimed to keep the rise in the Earth's average temperature below 2 degrees Celsius while striving to limit it to below 1.5 degrees. In the previous year of 2023, the temperature was up by 1.48 degrees compared to the industrial transfer period.
The WMO views last year's temperature rise of over 1.5 degrees as a temporary phenomenon. The goals set in the Paris Agreement are intended to focus on long-term trends; therefore, last year's data should not be seen as a failure of those targets.
Scientists analyzed that the El Niño phenomenon, which began in 2023, contributed to last year's record temperature rise. El Niño refers to the abnormal rise in sea surface temperatures in the equatorial east Pacific region. If the sea surface temperature in the 'El Niño and La Niña monitoring zone'—located between 5 degrees north and 5 degrees south, and longitude 170 to 120 degrees—remains more than 0.5 degrees higher than average for a sustained period of over five months, it indicates the occurrence of El Niño.
Scientists warn that if the temperature rise exceeds 1.5 degrees compared to pre-industrial levels, it could lead to irreversible risks for the Earth's ecosystem. Even if this is a temporary phenomenon, if there is no immediate response, it could change into a long-term trend. Therefore, nations worldwide need to unite and take prompt action.
Johann Rockström, a researcher at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany, remarked that reaching the 1.5-degree threshold is a powerful warning. He pointed out, "We are experiencing a world beyond 1.5 degrees for the first time, which has caused unprecedented pain and costs to people everywhere and the global economy." Indeed, the Agence France-Presse (AFP) estimated that climate change-related disasters resulted in damages worth 440 trillion won last year alone.
António Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, emphasized that "the WMO's assessment confirms again that global warming is a cold, hard fact," and stated, "This means that the world must fight even harder to get back on the right track."