The year's over, so ...

 

When all the December data comes in, we'll find out if this article was on the mark. I'm pretty sure it was.

World on track for hottest year ever as carbon pollution hits record levels

Highlights, if you want to call them that:

"As opposed to being focused in one region or another, the record heat was unusually widespread. About 12.2% of the world’s surface experienced record heat, beating the previous October record extent set in 2015 of 8.4%."

"For the year to date, the January-to-October global surface temperature ranked warmest in NOAA’s 175-year record. According to NOAA/NCEI’s statistical analysis, there is a greater than 99% chance that 2024 will rank as the warmest year on record, which would give the planet two consecutive warmest years on record. It appears unlikely Earth will again see a year in the 20th-century temperature range for many years to come, unless there is major volcanic cooling, a major geoengineering push, and/or a sustained, worldwide effort to reduce fossil-fuel emissions."

"The inflation-adjusted tally of U.S. billion-dollar weather disasters so far in 2024 has been 24. These include 17 severe storm events, four hurricanes, one wildfire, and two winter storms. Drought costs thus far in the U.S. amount to $1.7-$2 billion (according to Gallagher Re and Aon), so NOAA will likely be adding another billion-dollar disaster from drought. The average number of billion-dollar disasters for a full year for the most recent five years (2019–2023) is 20.4; the record was 28, set in 2023."

And a disturbing data plot: