Taiwan says 2024 was hottest year on record

Taipei: Taiwan said Tuesday that this year was the hottest since records began 127 years ago, echoing unprecedented temperature highs felt around the...

Taipei: Taiwan said Tuesday that this year was the hottest since records began 127 years ago, echoing unprecedented temperature highs felt around the world.

Climate change sparked a trail of extreme weather and record heat globally in 2024, fuelling natural disasters that caused billions of dollars worth of damage.

As of Sunday, the annual average temperature in Taiwan stood at 24.97 degrees Celsius (76.95 degrees Fahrenheit), exceeding the previous record of 24.91C in 2020 and setting a new high, the Central Weather Administration said.

"The average temperature in Taiwan in 2024 will be the highest recorded since 1897," the state forecaster said in a statement.

But, it warned that the next two months would bring "relatively lower average temperatures, with a chance of extreme cold spells", despite the global warming trend.