Climate stripes show how 2024 reached 1.5°C warming

A new global climate stripes graphic shows how 2024 was the warmest year ever recorded, with Earth’s average temperature going beyond the 1.5°C warming level for the first time.   

The warming stripes image, which shows how Earth has warmed over the past 175 years, has been updated following the latest release today of annual global temperature data from Copernicus Climate Change Service, Nasa, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Berkeley Earth.  

The record temperature data from 2024 has been incorporated into the global climate stripes graphic, now showing an additional dark red stripe, representing the first time that global average temperatures have gone beyond 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels for an entire year. 

The 2015 Paris Agreement saw political leaders sign a deal to keep long-term global average temperature rise well below 2°C, and to avoid reaching a consistent 1.5°C of warming across multiple decades, recognising that every small increase in average temperature increases the risk of more damaging climate impacts.  

Professor Ed Hawkins, the University of Reading scientist who created the climate stripes, said: “The climate stripes tell the story of how the planet has warmed up to now, reflecting our past choices on global carbon emissions. This new dark red stripe represents another year where our actions have caused the world to become warmer than ever before.   

“At the current rate, our planet is on a path to routinely exceed the limit that world leaders and scientists understand puts us at much higher risk of climate change with significant impacts. A warmer world will lead to more frequent and intense extreme weather, more ice melting, continued sea level rise, and numerous other impacts on people and societies globally. 

“The picture is stark, but we should not lose hope. The climate stripes represent humanity’s understanding of what's happening now, but they aren’t a prediction of the future. The stripes represent the amalgamation of the work of thousands of scientists over decades, collecting billions of pieces of data into a single image. The same human knowledge and ingenuity is available to help humanity change course. Every action we take now to cut emissions will help to build a better future.” 

The climate stripes show the change in average annual global temperatures since 1850. Red stripes indicate hotter years and blue stripes indicate cooler years, against the average of the period 1961-2010.   

The global climate stripes have already needed anew shade of red to reflect the extreme heat recorded in 2023 – with 2024 even hotter.  

Stripes images for individual cities, countries and continents can be viewed atshowyourstripes.info and will be updated to include the latest 2024 data in the coming months. 

Image: Climate stripes show the change in average annual global temperatures since 1850. Red stripes indicate hotter years and blue stripes indicate cooler years, against the average of the period 1971-2000. Updated to include 2024 temperature data.