The data is in. 2024 was the warmest year on record, and probably in the whole of human history – about 1.6°C warmer than the period before widespread industralisation. More than 1 billion individual thermometer measurements, made by thousands of people over many decades, have been condensed into a single number.
But, are these simple numbers helpful for telling the story of all this data and what it means for people living today? Does my simple graphic help? I hope so.
