European climate agency says this will likely be the hottest year on record — again

CHICAGO (AP) — It’s now virtually certain 2024 will be the hottest year on record, and the first with over 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming above the pre-industrial average, according to the European climate agency Copernicus. This is a grim milestone in global temperature records that scientists say should inspire ambition from countries at the upcoming United Nations climate change summit in Azerbaijan. Along with the record-shattering temperatures, heavy precipitation, severe regional droughts and devastating hurricanes like Milton and Helene are harbingers of the new world of climate chaos scientists have been warning about for decades.