was the first year to pass a milestone set by world leaders to try to keep the worst impacts of climate change at bay, scientists say.

Scientific agencies around the world confirmed that 2024 surpassed the global temperature record set in 2023 as carbon emissions contribute to extreme weather.

Earth recorded its hottest year on record in 2024, with such a big jump that the planet temporarily passed a major climate threshold, weather monitoring agencies announced Friday.

The total number of people killed in extreme weather events intensified by climate change in 2024 is likely in the tens or hundreds of thousands, said the World Weather Attribution group.

"Once again, the temperature record has been shattered — 2024 was the hottest year since record keeping began in 1880."

Earth is now closer to the sun than at any other time of the year. Here's why our planet's axial tilt, not proximity to the sun, is the key factor.

It's no easy task to calculate Earth's average temperature, but using tens of thousands of weather stations, ships and ocean buoys across the globe, NASA and NOAA are able to crunch the numbers.

Earth just had yet another "hottest year on record," snatching the title from 2023. Here's how South Carolina weathered the ever-more-common milestone.