Two-thirds of the Earth’s surface experienced record heat in 2024. See where and by how much – visualised

In oceans and on land, from the north to the south pole, records were smashed for the monthly average temperature

Two-thirds of the world’s surface was scorched by a month or more of record-breaking heat, Guardian analysis of satellite data can reveal.

In oceans and on land, from Colombia to China, and from the north to south pole, records for the monthly average temperature were smashed time and time again last year – in some cases, by as much as 5C (9F) hotter than the previous record.

The Guardian took the average temperatures for each month in 2024, as recorded by the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), and compared them with the hottest month since 1979.

Anywhere coloured in yellow through to red on the map broke a temperature record – something that scientists have warned represents “the widespread, accelerating impact of human-induced climate change”.

Overall, global warming is caused by burning fossil fuels. Experts warn that continuing to do so will lead to more death, disease and destruction.

The Paris agreement set a target of limiting global warming to 1.5C by the end of the century. While 2024 surpassed this level, the target is measured over decades, so a single year above that level does not mean the target has been missed.

Still, current policies put the world on track for 2.7C of global heating, and experts warn the climate emergency continues to get worse with every fraction of a degree that temperatures rise. Every year in the past decade has been one of the 10 hottest, in records that go back to 1850.

C3S senior scientist Julien Nicolas said: “These findings highlight the unprecedented conditions of 2024 and the widespread, accelerating impact of human-induced climate change. As the planet continues to warm, more records are likely to be broken in many parts of the world, exposing larger populations to extreme heat, placing greater strain on the environment and ecosystems, and increasing the risk of profound and irreversible changes to the climate.”

The Guardian analysis is based on air temperature two metres above the ground or sea. The monthly figures are based on an average of the daily figures, which themselves are an average of the hourly temperatures from Copernicus.

These hourly snapshots are calculated by state-of-the-art reanalysis models, which combine billions of readings from satellites, ships, planes and weather stations. They are more accurate in populated parts of the planet than in remote regions with few direct observation sites.

“These analyses are consistent with what is expected given the very large warming so far, and the particularly extreme conditions this year,” said Sonia Seneviratne, a climate scientist at ETH Zurich and vice-chair of the physical science working group of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

“If we don’t manage to decrease the burning of fossil fuels and reduce the global emissions of CO2 fast, these extreme temperatures will continue to become even more extreme and frequent,” she said. “Some regions could become uninhabitable. The last IPCC report has highlighted that we are starting to reach some limits to adaptation under the current level of global warming.”

Cover photo: BY THE GUARDIAN