On December 29th, the global surface temperature anomaly hit 1.95°C above the 1850–1900 baseline. — Prof. Eliot Jacobson.
There are several DEEPLY disturbing things about this graph. Let’s start with the most obvious.
2024 is finishing HOTTER than it started. That’s almost unbelievable for the “back half” year of an El Nino. Even AFTER dumping MASSIVE amounts of HEAT into the atmosphere the oceans got HOTTER than they were when the El Nino peaked.
The Global Mean Surface Temperature (GMST) for DECEMBER was +1.9°C above the “Pre-Industrial” baseline. On average, 2024 was +0.1°C HOTTER than 2023.
2023 starts at +1.4°C over baseline. It's an El Nino year. Around May, global temperatures started CLIMBING. By December, 2023 finishes at about +1.87°C over baseline. A roughly +0.5°C increase in a SINGLE YEAR.
2023 was an “El Nino” year. Everyone knew that a LOT of HEAT had built up in the oceans. Everyone expected that temperatures could go up quiet a bit, TEMPORARILY. Then, it was expected, they would drop back down.
That's how El Ninos work.
Here’s another view. 2023 (red arrows) starts with the GMST at 13°C and finishes at 13.5°C. 2024 (green arrows) starts with a GMST of 13.5°C and is finishing at the same temperature. The +0.5°C temperature increase has been maintained.
2024 WASN’T “normal”.
2024 starts at +1.87°C over baseline and FINISHES at +1.94°C over baseline. On average, 2024 was about +0.1°C HOTTER than 2023.
