2024 Will Be Hottest Year on Record, Says EU Climate Agency

The Copernicus Climate Change Service predicted the global average temperature in 2024 will have been 1.62°C, or 2.9°F, above the average between 1850 and 1900. Sea ice coverage was also at a record low in November, it reported.

Key Quote: Copernicus Deputy Director Samantha Burgess said, "This does not mean that the Paris Agreement has been breached, but it does mean ambitious climate action is more urgent than ever."

For Context: The 2015 Paris Agreement set a target of limiting warming to 1.5°C above the "pre-industrial average" but didn't define any specific time intervals for pre-industrial and modern periods to compare. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) says the modern average should be taken over a 20-to-30 year period for an accurate comparison. President-elect Donald Trump intends to remove the U.S. from the Paris Agreement.

How the Media Covered It: A scientist told Associated Press (Left bias) the science community is "perplexed" why a cooling La Niña effect didn't materialize as expected this year. Many left and center outlets covered the news, while right outlets mostly didn't cover it, as has been a pattern in recent years. In one exception, the AP article appeared verbatim in Breitbart (Right).