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The Geopolitics of Global Warming
With global warming breaking the 1.5 degree threshold — and rising — we must look at the geopolitical fault lines.
2024 was Earth’s warmest on record. Not only did it eclipse 2023’s record high, but it exceeded the 2015 Paris threshold of 1.5°C above preindustrial levels for the first time. The data — including proxy records like tree rings and ice cores — show that 2024 was likely the hottest of the past 125,000 years. Multiple global records were broken for greenhouse gas levels, air temperature, and sea surface temperature.
The ugly reality is this: While individual years are not to be taken as proof of anything, the long-term trend is toward even more rapid warming.
The Los Angeles wildfires are not exceptional. Among the most data recorded during 2024 was an unusually high amount of atmospheric water vapor, about 5% above the 1991–2020 average. Extreme heat and high humidity are a deadly combination. They shift rain and locations suitable for agricultural production and contribute to extreme precipitation events and rapidly intensified tropical cyclones like hurricanes Helene and Milton.
