It’s official: Earth’s average temperature climbed more than 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels for the first time in 2024. Climate scientists announced the breach today, signalling that the world has failed, at least temporarily, to avoid crossing the threshold set by governments to avert the worst impacts of global warming. For the time being, it’s just one metric and one year, but researchers say that it nonetheless serves as a stark reminder that the world is moving into dangerous territory — perhaps more quickly than previously thought.

“It’s both a physical reality and a symbolic shock,” says Gail Whiteman, a social scientist at the University of Exeter, UK, who studies climate risks. “We are reaching the end of what we thought was a safe zone for humanity.”