Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. The official numbers are in, and 2024 was the hottest year in recorded history —and almost surely also the hottest year in the history of human civilization.

Last year was the planet’s hottest in recorded history, multiple government agencies announced Friday, marking two years in a row that global temperatures have shattered records.Scientists with NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said 2024 was hotter than any year since at least 1880.

Last year was the hottest ever recorded, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released Friday. In 2024, Earth overall saw its highest global temperature dating to the beginning of NOAA’s climate record in 1850,