Earth had its warmest year on record in 2024, according to a new report from the National Centers for Environmental Information. In 2024, the global surface temperature was 2.32°F (1.29°C) above the 20th-century average. This ranks as the highest global temperature in the period of 1850–2024, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), beating the next warmest year on record in 2023 by 0.18°F (0.10°C).

The 10 warmest years since 1850 have all occurred in the past decade, with 2024's global temperature exceeding the pre-industrial (1850–1900) average by 2.63°F (1.46°C). Temperatures were warmer than average over most of the earth’s land surface in 2024. The largest warm anomalies were in the Arctic, northeastern North America and Eastern Europe. North America, South America, Europe, Africa and Oceania had their warmest year on record, according to the report.

The global surface temperature in December 2024 was 2.27°F (1.26°C) above the 20th-century average, the second-warmest December on record. The Arctic, North America and northern Asia were much warmer than normal, while parts of southern South America, Northern Africa and southern Asia were slightly below average.

The report showed that upper ocean heat content, the amount of heat stored in the top 2000 meters of the ocean, was a record high in 2024. Ocean heat content is a key climate indicator because the oceans store 90 percent of the excess heat in the earth's system. The indicator has been tracked globally since 1958, and there has been a steady upward trend since about 1970. The five highest values have all occurred in the last five years.



Sea Ice Extent

Sea ice extent is the area of the ocean that is covered by at least 15 percent ice. It's a metric used to monitor climate change. According to the report, Arctic sea ice extent averaged 4.03 million square miles in 2024, the seventh lowest on record. The maximum extent in March was 5.74 million square miles, which ranked 15th lowest, while the minimum extent in September was 1.69 million square miles, which ranked sixth lowest. Global sea ice extent records began in 1979.

Antarctic sea ice extent averaged 4.00 million square miles in 2024, the second-lowest on record. The maximum extent in September was 6.59 million square miles, ranked second lowest, and the minimum extent in February was 830,000 square miles, which also ranked second lowest. 

The global average sea ice extent in December ranked as the fourth-lowest December extent in the 45-year record. Arctic sea ice extent was 4.41 million square miles, which was the lowest extent for December on record. Antarctic sea ice extent was 3.66 million square miles, which was the 10th lowest extent for December on record, the report said.