Two things became immediately clear as the crisis unfolded. The first was that, as we’ve already noted, the municipal, provincial and national authorities had absolutely no idea how to deal with the looming disaster.

The first 21 days of the month were the hottest three-week period on record, with July 6 seeing the highest ever global average temperature, according to the European Union’s Earth observation agency Copernicus.

In September, the world passed 1.5°C of warming. Two months later, we hit 2°C of warming. It’s fair to wonder what is going on.

This year didn’t just shatter records. It changed the scales. 

2023 set a new record for Earth’s highest average surface temperature, driven primarily by human activities. NASA and the U.S. are intensifying efforts to combat climate change through data accessibility and policy actions.

Earth has endured 12 months of temperatures 1.5C hotter than the pre-industrial era for the first time on record, Europe's climate monitor said Thursday, in what scientists called a "warning to humanity".

A major research program led by the University of East Anglia (UEA) has quantified how climate change risks to human and natural systems increase at a national scale as the level of global warming increases.

Last month was the hottest June on record across the globe, the EU's climate monitor said Monday, capping half a year of wild and destructive weather from floods to heat waves.

The South African Weather Service (Saws) has issued its Seasonal Climate Watch for December 2024 to April 2025, providing crucial insights into expected weather patterns across the country. South Africans can expect a hot summer with below-normal rainfall in some regions and a neutral El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) for now.

While it is still early in the summer season to be certain, meteorologists are predicting that South Africa could experience its hottest summer on record.