Human-induced climate change adds 41 days of extreme heat in 2024

Newly published research indicates that climate change added an average of 41 days of dangerous heat in 2024, harming human health and ecosystems.

The joint report by World Weather Attribution (WWA) and Climate Central warns that every country needs to prepare for rising climate risks to minimize deaths and damage in 2025 and beyond.

The world experienced an average of 41 extra days of dangerous heat in 2024 due to human-caused warming, the study said, suggesting that a much faster transition away from fossil fuels is needed to avoid a future of relentless heat waves, drought, wildfires, storms and floods.

The report noted that climate change intensified 26 of the 29 weather events studied by World Weather Attribution which killed at least 3,700 people and displaced millions.

"Climate change had a stronger influence than El Nino on many extreme weather events," it added.

Friederike Otto, lead of WWA and senior lecturer in Climate Science at Imperial College London, said the impacts of fossil fuel warming "have never been clearer or more devastating" than in 2024, adding: "We are living in a dangerous new era."

He said extreme weather killed thousands of people, forced millions from their homes this year and caused unrelenting suffering, recalling that floods in Spain, hurricanes in the US, drought in the Amazon and floods across Africa are "just a few examples."

"We know exactly what we need to do to stop things from getting worse: stop burning fossil fuels," said Otto.

"The top resolution for 2025 must be transitioning away from fossil fuels, which will make the world a safer and more stable place."

'Failed scorecard'

Citing projections that this year is set to be the hottest on record, the report also noted that the first six months saw record-breaking temperatures, extending a streak that started in 2023 to 13 months, with the world’s hottest day in history recorded on July 22.

"If the world does not rapidly transition away from oil, gas and coal, the number of dangerous heat days will continue to increase each year and threaten public health," warned the scientists.

According to the study, a faster shift away from fossil fuels, improvements in early warning, real-time reporting of heat deaths and international finance to help developing countries become more resilient are the key resolutions for 2025 to both tackle climate change and protect people from extreme weather.

"Another devastating year of extreme weather has shown that we are not well prepared for life at 1.3-1.5°C of warming," said Julie Arrighi, director of programs at the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre.

"In 2025, it's crucial that every country accelerate efforts to adapt to climate change," she added.

Ben Clarke, researcher at the Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London, said this annual report reads like a "failed scorecard."

"The world is not cutting emissions and preparing for climate change quickly enough. The consequences are record-breaking extreme weather events that cause deaths, displacement, and loss of livelihoods."