The year 2024 has been the warmest in the 108 years of records

January 22, 2025

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Climatological summary of the year 2024 at the Izaña Observatory

The annual average temperature, along with the annual averages of daily maximum and minimum temperatures recorded at the Izaña Observatory in 2024, have kept the progressive increase observed over recent decades, further confirming the sustained warming trend (Figure 1).

Figure 1.- Annual anomalies of the average temperature recorded at the Izaña Observatory between 1916 and 2024, using the 1961–1990 average as the reference. Gradual blue tones represent negative anomalies, while red tones indicate positive anomalies.

The annual average temperature recorded in 2024 was 12.1°C, exceeding the upper quintile of the 1961–1990 reference period used for climate change analysis, and thus classified as “extremely warm.” Furthermore, this average temperature is the highest ever recorded since measurements began in 1916 (Figure 2a), overpassing the previous records from 2010 and 2017 by up to 0.5°C. A statistically significant positive trend of 0.16°C per decade at the 95% confidence level is observed, which aligns closely with the global warming trend. Additionally, an approximately bi-decadal oscillation of warm and cold periods can be identified, currently at a peak warm phase, as shown in the 5-year locally weighted regression (Lowess) adjustment.

Similarly to the average temperature, the annual averages of daily maximum and minimum temperatures also reached record highs in 2024, with values of 16.2°C (+0.7°C compared to 2017) and 8.0°C (+0.4°C compared to 2017), respectively (Figures 2b and 2c). A statistically significant positive trend at the 95% confidence level was observed, with an increase of 0.17°C per decade for maximum temperatures and 0.16°C per decade for minimum temperatures.

Figure 2.- Annual averages of (a) mean, (b) maximum, and (c) minimum daily temperatures (°C) measured at the Izaña Observatory between 1916 and 2024. The red line represents the linear trend, while the green line shows a 5-year locally weighted regression (Lowess) adjustment.

Figure 3. Accumulated precipitation (mm) at the Izaña Observatory between 1916 and 2024.

Finally, it should be remarkable that the total sunshine duration in 2024 was 3,883.6 hours, ranking as the 2nd highest record in the entire series since 1917, surpassed only by 2019 with 4,005.7 hours (Figure 4). Compared to the 1961–1990 reference period, 2024 is classified as an “extremely sunny” year, while it is categorized as “very sunny” based on the 1991–2020 climatological reference.

Figure 4. Total annual accumulated sunshine duration (hours) at the Izaña Observatory between 1916 and 2024.

In summary, the average values of significant meteorological variables for 2024, compared with different reference periods, are presented in the following table.