The year 2024 has been officially recorded as the warmest year in India since 1901, with the average minimum temperature rising 0.90°C above the long-term average.
According to Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, Director General of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the annual mean land surface air temperature in 2024 was 0.65°C higher than the average recorded during the 1991–2020 period.
This surpasses 2016, which had previously held the record with a mean temperature 0.54°C above normal.
Globally, the European climate agency Copernicus reported that 2024 likely ended as the warmest year on record and marked the first year where the global average temperature exceeded 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
A review by climate research groups World Weather Attribution and Climate Central highlighted that 2024 saw an additional 41 days of dangerous heat worldwide, emphasizing the intensifying climate crisis.