Caribbean Climate Experts Confirm 2024 As Warmest Year on Record

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NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Record-breaking hurricanes, scorching wildfires, drought and floods scarred the region’s landscape last year, inflicting major damage across the Caribbean and right here at home. 

Climate scientists, led by researchers from the University of the West Undies, confirming the region endured record-breaking heat in 2024 and temperatures are only heating up.

Experts say it’s a part of the fallout from global warmIng.

Caribbean climate scientists, led by researchers from the university of the West Indies, issued a statement revealing that 2024 was the warmest year on record for the region since measurements began in 1950.

The findings are detailed in the 2024 State of the Climate report published by the American Meteorological Society. 

The report, which tracks global climate conditions each year, warns of record-breaking ocean heat, the highest sea levels ever observed, and extreme weather events that caused major damage and loss of life. 

The Caribbean section was authored by five UWI experts in collaboration with the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology and the Meteorological service of Jamaica. 

The data points to a year marked by heat but also by extreme weather. 

2024 ranked as the eighth wettest year since 1950, with average rainfall at 114 percent of normal levels. 

There were also destructive storms that slammed several Caribbean nations. 

Among the most devastating was Hurricane Beryl, the earliest category 5 Atlantic hurricane on record, which impacted Barbados, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Jamaica, leaving over $1.4 billion in damages and multiple fatalities.

And there’s already been record heat so far this year. just this summer, the world saw the third-warmest July on record.

So what can u do to beat the heat?

1. 1. Increase vegetation to provide shade and absorb heat.
2. 2. Install cool roofs by painting them white or use reflective tiles.

3. Optimize ventilation by using natural cross-ventilation by opening windows during cooler hours and closing them when the outside temperature rises. 

4. And upgrading cooling systems by choosing energy-efficient air conditioners and heat pumps.