2024 Likely Earth’s Hottest Year Ever

A new report says Earth just experienced its second-warmest November on record — second only to 2023 — making it all but certain that 2024 will end as the hottest year ever measured. A report Monday by the European climate service Copernicus says 2024 also is expected to be the first calendar year in which the average temperature was more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times. The world’s goal is to limit human-caused warming below that threshold. Scientists say the main driver is burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas.