India experienced its warmest year on record in 2024, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The average minimum temperature for the year was 0.90 degrees Celsius above the long-term average, the IMD stated on January 1.
The annual mean temperature in 2024 was 25.75 degrees Celsius, surpassing the long-term average by 0.65 degrees Celsius. The average maximum temperature was 31.25 degrees Celsius, which is 0.20 degrees Celsius above normal, while the average minimum temperature reached 20.24 degrees Celsius, exceeding the norm by 0.90 degrees Celsius, as confirmed by IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra.
This marks the year 2024 as the hottest since records began in 1901, surpassing 2016, which had set a previous record with a mean land surface temperature 0.54 degrees Celsius above normal.
July, August, September and October saw the highest recorded average minimum temperatures for these months, while February also had the second highest on record. According to the European climate agency Copernicus, 2024 is expected to be the warmest year globally, marking the first time global temperatures have risen 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels (1850-1900).
A review by two independent climate organisations, World Weather Attribution and Climate Central, reported that 2024 saw an additional 41 days of dangerously high temperatures worldwide.
Mohapatra emphasised that the rise in minimum temperatures in 2024 was notably significant. “Long-term trends show that much of the country is experiencing an increase in minimum temperatures, especially during the post-monsoon and winter seasons,” he said.
The IMD also indicated that La Niña conditions, usually associated with cooler winters in North India, are expected to develop in January, though they will be brief and unlikely to alter the ongoing warming trend.
June 2023 marked the first instance of a monthly global temperature surpassing the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold, a trend that continued through the year, except for July 2024. The Paris Agreement defines a sustained breach of the 1.5 degrees Celsius limit as ongoing warming over 20-30 years. Experts warn that the world has now entered a period where temperatures will consistently exceed this threshold.
The global average temperature has already risen by 1.3 degrees Celsius compared to the 1850-1900 baseline, driven by increasing greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane. The year 2024 is expected to cap a decade of extraordinary heat caused by human activity, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
WMO Secretary-General António Guterres declared, “Today, I can officially report that we have just endured a decade of deadly heat. The 10 hottest years on record have all occurred in the last decade, including 2024.” He described this as “climate breakdown — in real time,” urging immediate action to avoid further destruction.
The WMO will release the final global temperature data for 2024 in January, followed by the full “State of the Global Climate 2024” report in March 2025. The organisation also documented record-breaking rainfall, catastrophic flooding, extreme heatwaves exceeding 50°C, and devastating wildfires in 2024.
Climate change was found to have added 41 days of extreme heat, harming both human health and ecosystems, and contributed to the intensification of 26 out of 29 weather events studied, which resulted in the deaths of over 3,700 people and the displacement of millions.