Climate Facts: 2024 was Africa’s hottest year on record, says WMO

The complexities of climate change and its associated jargon can prove difficult to digest.

TheCable’s quick climate facts will help demystify these concepts through easy-to-understand and straight-to-the-point explanations.

Here are some to keep at the tip of your fingers:

• The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) says between 2005 and 2024, the rate of ocean warming in Africa was more than twice the rate observed between 1960 and 2005.

• The organisation said 2024 recorded the highest ocean heat content as global mean sea level rose by 4.7 millimetres per year from 2015 to 2024, driven by ocean warming and rapid ice sheet loss.

• WMO said 2024 the Africa’s warmest year on record since 1900.
• It noted that average temperature across Africa was 0.86°C above the 1991–2020 average, with values ranging from 0.60°C to 1.05°C depending on the dataset.
• The International Energy Agency (IEA) says energy production and use account for about 75 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.