A year of extreme weather that posed challenges for billions of people

Climate change has brought record-breaking heat and extreme weather events this year, from hurricanes to months-long droughts.

This year is expected to be the hottest on record and new research shows people around the world faced another 41 days of dangerous heat due to climate change.

Researchers from the World Weather Attribution (WWA) group at Imperial College and Climate Central said the study showed “we are living in a dangerous new era”.

From Brazil to Indonesia, we take a look back at the climate events that impacted the lives of billions of people in 2024.

This has been a year of heat – temperature records have been broken several times on land and in the sea.

In April, dozens of countries, from Lebanon in the west to Cambodia in the east, suffered from a prolonged heat wave that brought risks of dehydration and heat stroke.

However, Julie Arrighi, program director at the Red Cross and Red Crescent Climate Center, said the impacts were not equally felt.

“Young people and those over 65, particularly those with underlying medical conditions, are at risk – they are physiologically less able to cope with extreme heat,” she said.

She said people in conflict situations also suffered disproportionately from their housing situations, including being placed in temporary shelters that can increase the heat, or having a disrupted water system.

Research has shown that populations can adapt to higher temperatures over time, but even taking this into account, scientists at WWA and Climate Central estimate that the global population will have experienced 41 additional days of dangerous heat in 2024 – compared to a world without climate change.

Dr. Friederike Otto, head of the WWA and lecturer in climate science at Imperial College London, said: “The impacts of warming from fossil fuels have never been more clear and devastating than in 2024.”

“We are living in a dangerous new era – extreme weather has caused unrelenting suffering.”

This worsened a regional heat wave around the Amazon region a natural climate phenomenon called El Niñobut researchers at WWA and Climate Central said climate change remains the driving force.

In conjunction with higher temperatures, rainfall also decreased in parts of South America. Officials in Colombia reported that levels in the Amazon fell by 90%, severely affecting power supplies and crop yields and leading to forest fires.

It is estimated that nearly half a million children were affected as schools in Brazil and Colombia were closed due to a lack of drinking water. according to Unicef.

The Amazon is also an important lifeline for the rainforest of the same name – providing habitat for thousands of species and supporting global efforts to combat climate change.

“We fear that climate change could irreversibly shift the forest to a drier state, leading to a reduction in moisture flux and carbon sink, as well as loss of biodiversity,” said Dr. Regina Rodrigues, professor of physical oceanography and climate at the Federal University of Santa Catarina in Brazil.

“All of these critical processes are essential not only locally and regionally but also globally to sustain life as we know it,” she said.

While some are suffering from a lack of rain, others have received too much.

The Philippines experienced a record-breaking six typhoons in just 30 days in October and November – after six months of storms. The country is one of the most vulnerable to these tropical storms due to its location near warm ocean waters.

Landslides and floods triggered by this season’s storms claimed more than 1,200 lives across Southeast Asia.

There is currently no evidence that climate change is increasing the number of typhoons, hurricanes or cyclones (the same phenomenon but named differently around the world), although research suggests that it may be increasing their intensity.

But a seasonal assessment by WWA scientists concluded that record ocean temperatures in 2024 were “conducive” to the formation of such storms and that those temperatures were increased by climate change.

Dr. Zach Zobel, an associate scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center who was not involved in the study, supported the WWA approach but added: “(This season) didn’t tell us anything that we didn’t already know in one Magnitude 1.3 would come.” -1.5 °C (warmer) world.

“Scientists have been warning for years, if not decades, that these extreme events are becoming more common,” he said.

Even the richest nations have not been able to fully protect themselves from extreme weather this year. According to a study by Christian Aid, the US experienced two consecutive hurricanes – first Hurricane Helene and then Hurricane Milton – which claimed more than 260 lives and caused $115bn (£92bn) in damage.

Scientists had predicted one “exceptional” season due to increased sea temperatures in the Atlantic, which fuel hurricanes.

But while Hurricane Beryl became the earliest Category 5 Atlantic hurricane on record on July 2, there was a lull in the middle of the season before Hurricane Helene struck.

Dr. Otto told the BBC that normally large storms can remove heat from the ocean and prevent new hurricanes from forming for some time, but qualitative evidence suggests that “this effect did not occur because the entire upper ocean was extremely hot.”

She added that WWA would like to conduct further analysis on this topic in the future.

Floods in Sudan and Nigeria in August and September showed that extreme weather conditions can be made worse by poorly maintained infrastructure.

Heavy rain from July Widespread flooding occurred, leading to multiple dam failures, killing dozens of people and forcing thousands from their homes.

The report from WWA and Climate Central estimates that these heavy rains have become frequent events due to human-caused warming and will occur on average every three to 10 years.

Julie Arrighi from the Red Cross and Red Crescent Climate Center said: “Our studies continue to show that preparedness for extreme weather conditions needs to be improved to reduce deaths and damage.”

“We are not well prepared for life at 1.3 to 1.5 °C warming.”