Climate change in 2024 hits ‘irreversible’ levels as global temperatures break new records

Search and rescue workers dig through the rubble left behind by the Eaton Fire, in Altadena, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

The impacts of human-induced climate change reached new lows during 2024, and some of the consequences will be "irreversible" for hundreds if not thousands of years, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has said.

Its warning comes as Ireland’s Climate Change Advisory Council has said the country must become better prepared for the next major weather event after Storm Éowyn wreaked havoc in January and “exposed Ireland’s vulnerability and lack of resilience”.