2024 is on track to be the hottest year on record

It was 2023 . This past year is about to beat it, and it caused more problems this past year than just sharp thermometers.

(WWA) released its annual Extreme Weather Report showing how the record 34.34 Fahrenheit increase in human-caused warming since last year has caused “relentless heat waves, drought, wildfires, storms and floods.” WWA estimates that climate change is responsible for at least 3,700 deaths and 26 weather events in 2024 that have “displaced millions”.

The report recorded a total of 219 events since 2024 that met its “trigger criteria” for identifying impactful weather events. Many of the events were influenced by the natural climate pattern known as El Niño (which has only under the influence of climate change), but WWA studies “found that climate change played a greater role than El Niño in fueling these events, including the historic Amazon drought.”

Climate change has added an average of 41 extra days of dangerous heat and caused record rainfall and flooding around the world. A study of 16 floods found that all but one were caused by a warming atmosphere that held more moisture, leading to heavier rainfall. These weather conditions can also fuel larger and deadlier hurricanes and typhoons like Helena, the Category 4 hurricane that hit America in September. of North Carolina estimates that Helene caused $53.8 billion in damage in her state alone.

Two of the world’s most important ecosystems were also “severely affected by climate change in 2024,” according to the WWA report. The Amazon rainforest and the Pantanal wetland, the world’s largest tropical wetland, have suffered severe droughts and wildfires that have led to “enormous biodiversity loss” in the past year.

Both areas are critical to maintaining the strength of Earth’s ecosystems, climates, and economies. removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis and releases water into the atmosphere that helps control climate and the circulation of ocean currents. it harbors tens of thousands of wildlife species and provides much-needed flood control for the region and creates global economic activity for cattle ranching and soybean production, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

The WWA report laid out some critical decisions for 2025. to combat the increasing impact of climate change. The report calls for a “faster transition” away from fossil fuel use, improvements in early warning systems for extreme weather events, a greater focus on reporting heat-related deaths and funding for developing countries and regions that are most affected by the effects of climate change.