'2024 becomes the world's hottest year on record, fueling extreme weather events,' the year in climate and weather

As I promised yesterday, it's time to review the year in climate and weather beginning with France 24 English reporting 2024 becomes the world's hottest year on record, fueling extreme weather events.

In 2024, billions of people across the world faced climatic conditions that broke record after record: logging ever more highs for heat, floods, storms, fire and drought. As the year drew to a close, the conclusion was both blatant and bleak: 2024 was the hottest year since records began, according to European climate scientists. Story by Alice Brogat, Axelle Simon and Eliza Herbert.

Seeing this reminds me of the first two questions I ask my students while watching Chasing Ice.

1. Chasing Ice opens with a montage of natural disasters. Name three of them.

The three that come to mind are floods, fires, and droughts. All of those, along with dangerous heatwaves and stronger hurricanes and tropical cyclones, appear in this report. For what it's worth, those are also among the possible answers to a question I ask about Treasures of the Earth: Power: "What are the expected effects of global warming? List three examples." Back to Chasing Ice.

2. How many of the past 20 years, as of 2012, were the hottest on record?

As of 2012, 16 were the hottest on record. According to the image below, it looks like it's now 17, as 1998, 2002, and 2003 fall outside the past 20 years, although the past ten years remain the hottest decade on record.


Yikes!

First, welcome to the 400 ppm world. Second, are you scared enough by climate change? My readers should be.

Firstpost from India has more, including some good news, in Greening Antarctica, Flooded Sahara: 2024 - Year of Climate Change | Firstpost Earth Year Ender.

2024 has been a landmark year for climate change, with record-breaking heat and extreme weather events dominating the globe. From the Sahara’s rare floods to the Arctic’s rapid melting, the planet is feeling the heat. But there’s hope too—renewable energy is booming, and conservation efforts are gaining momentum. Join us as we reflect on the highs and lows of a tumultuous year.

Good news that I can share with my students, but not nearly enough to inspire me to post Professor Farnsworth. Still, welcome to blogging as professional development.

I conclude with ABC News reporting on the Billion-dollar disasters of 2024.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the total cost of disasters this year was $61.6 billion.

I'm recycling my reaction from 'Weathered: Earth's Extremes' asks 'What Happens When the Land Runs Out?'

I close by recycling another program note from 'The "dirty side" of a hurricane, explained' by Vox.

So far, this season's 18 named storms, including 11 hurricanes and 5 major hurricanes, have borne out NOAA's 'Most Aggressive Hurricane Season Forecast On Record' for 2024, which predicted 17–25 named storms, 8–13 hurricanes, and 4–7 major hurricanes. I might revisit this and other forecasts next month. Stay tuned.

I have two more weeks to do this, so stay tuned for this year's version of 2023 is the hottest year on record and other climate and weather stories. That's when I plan on posting the follow up.

There's been no change since I wrote this, so I think ABC News's report suffices.

It's early enough that I might post an entry about the year's best TV shows today. Stay tuned to see if I do, followed by the overall year in review for New Year's Eve.