Climate change led to nearly six extra weeks of dangerous heat worldwide over the past year, according to a new study from Climate Central and World Weather Attribution.
The report, released Friday, found that climate change, which is predominantly caused by planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions, led to 41 extra days of hazardous temperatures in 2024, which is likely to be the warmest year on record. Researchers calculated the extra days based on the hottest 10 percent of days in the preceding three decades.
The countries affected by the extra days of extreme heat were disproportionately small island states whose contribution to climate change has been minimal. For example, Indonesia, an archipelago of thousands of islands and 280 million residents, saw 122 extra days of hazardous heat levels. However, the report also found that less affected countries like the U.S. and the U.K. experienced three additional weeks of elevated temperatures as a result.
Climate change was a factor in millions of displacements and at least 3,700 deaths across 219 extreme weather events over the course of the year.
While this year also saw an El Niño event that contributed to extreme weather in early 2024, the research determined that human-caused climate change played a larger role in those events.
The report comes weeks after fierce debate kicked off at The Hague’s International Court of Justice, where representatives for the island nation of Vanuatu called on the court to recognize the harms of climate change caused by wealthy, high-emissions nations like China and the U.S.
“The outcome of these proceedings will reverberate across generations, determining the fate of nations like mine and the future of our planet,” said Ralph Regenvanu, Vanuatu’s special envoy for climate change and the environment, in his opening remarks on Dec. 2. “Today, we find ourselves on the frontlines of a crisis we did not create, a crisis that threatens our very existence.”
