Official data: 2024 was the hottest year on record in Romania

The Ministry of Environment announced that 2024 was the hottest year in the history of Romania's meteorological records.

Red alerts for heat waves began in June of 2024, with the longest consecutive periods of persistent and intense heat waves, six consecutive days, between July 13-18 and August 15-20.

"The year 2024 is the hottest year in the history of meteorological records in Romania, with an average annual temperature of 12.99 degrees Celsius and a thermal deviation of 2.71 degrees Celsius compared to the 1991-2020 average," according to the National Meteorological Administration.

Furthermore, 2024 was also confirmed as the hottest year globally by the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), marking the first calendar year where the global average temperature exceeded the 1.5 degrees Celsius pre-industrial level. Moreover, the last ten years have been the warmest ten years on record globally.

Copernicus data also revealed that 44% of the planet experienced severe or even extreme heat stress on July 10, 2024. Additionally, the hottest day ever recorded globally was July 22, 2024. “These elevated global temperatures, combined with record levels of atmospheric water vapor in 2024, have triggered unprecedented heatwaves and intense rainfall events, causing immense suffering for millions of people,” stated Dr. Samantha Burgess, Deputy Director at Copernicus.

In Romania, the highest maximum temperatures were 41.7 degrees Celsius in July 2024 in Cernavodă and 41.1 degrees Celsius in August 2024 in Zimnicea, both in southern Romania. A total of 15 red alerts were issued for heatwaves and extreme discomfort in the summer of 2024.

Environment minister Mircea Fechet stated that the effects of climate change are increasingly perilous.

"It is crucial to implement measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, develop innovative technologies, and adapt management strategies for water, waste, and reforestation. We need a new approach to natural resource exploitation. Climate change affects every one of us, and we must act now!" added Fechet.

The 2012-2024 period represents the hottest 13-year period on record in Romania, with positive annual temperature deviations ranging from 0.24 degrees Celsius in 2021 to 2.71 degrees Celsius in 2024. The five hottest years during 1900-2024 are 2024, 2023, 2019, 2020, and 2022.

In 2024, positive monthly temperature deviations were recorded for ten months, the highest being February (+7.0 degrees Celsius), followed by June (+3.7 degrees Celsius), July (+3.5 degrees Celsius), and August (+3.2°C). February 2024 also registered the highest average monthly temperature anomaly for that month and all other months in Romania's history.