Seasonal Attribution Report

Between December 2023 and February 2024, carbon pollution drove abnormal warmth for approximately 80% of the global population. Roughly 4.8 billion people experienced at least one day of temperatures that would be 'virtually impossible' without climate change. The report highlights extreme temperature anomalies in the U.S. upper Midwest and Canada, as well as high Climate Shift Index (CSI) levels in tropical regions of Southeast Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Caribbean. It also documents associated extreme weather events, including record-breaking heat in Australia and deadly floods in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

• Approximately 6.7 billion people, or 80% of the global population, were exposed to unusual warmth linked to climate change between December 2023 and February 2024. Of these, 4.8 billion people (about 59%) experienced at least one day of temperatures that would be 'virtually impossible' without carbon pollution.
• For 1.7 billion people, daily temperatures during the period reached level 5 on the Climate Shift Index (CSI) at least 31 times, meaning abnormal warmth was made at least five times more likely by climate change for a month or more.
• The most significant temperature departures from average winter temperatures among 678 analyzed global cities occurred in Minneapolis, where average temperatures were more than 5.5 degrees C above normal.
• Tropical regions showed the strongest fingerprints of climate change; in 36 countries across Southeast Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Caribbean, 579 million people experienced unusual warmth (CSI level 5 or higher) on 60 or more days.
• Specific high-exposure countries included Indonesia (85 days at CSI 5 or higher), Malaysia (84 days), and Rwanda (79 days). In Europe, countries such as Slovakia, Switzerland, and Bosnia and Herzegovina also saw significant warming, with average temperatures roughly 3 degrees C higher than normal for the winter.
• Climate-driven extreme weather during this period included record-breaking heat in Australia (reaching 46°C and 50°C in Western Australia), wildfires in Chile and Colombia that killed 131 people, and the worst floods in decades in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which killed over 300 people.
• In the United States, 71 million people were exposed to at least one day of warmth reaching CSI level 5, and 15 states plus Puerto Rico experienced at least ten days of unusually warm weather made at least twice as likely by climate change.

APA

Climate Central (2024). Seasonal Attribution Report. https://assets.ctfassets.net/cxgxgstp8r5d/41t4i0s9ZxlPEYivQpX9cV/2b7ae977cd5dd0f4abef2b4a062fb179/Report_-_People_Exposed_to_Climate_Change__Dec_2023_-_Feb_2024.pdf

Chicago

Climate Central. Seasonal Attribution Report. 2024. https://assets.ctfassets.net/cxgxgstp8r5d/41t4i0s9ZxlPEYivQpX9cV/2b7ae977cd5dd0f4abef2b4a062fb179/Report_-_People_Exposed_to_Climate_Change__Dec_2023_-_Feb_2024.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Central |title=Seasonal Attribution Report |date=7 March 2024 |url=https://assets.ctfassets.net/cxgxgstp8r5d/41t4i0s9ZxlPEYivQpX9cV/2b7ae977cd5dd0f4abef2b4a062fb179/Report_-_People_Exposed_to_Climate_Change__Dec_2023_-_Feb_2024.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatecentral2024seasonal, author = {{Climate Central}}, title = {{Seasonal Attribution Report}}, institution = {Climate Central}, year = {2024}, month = mar, url = {https://assets.ctfassets.net/cxgxgstp8r5d/41t4i0s9ZxlPEYivQpX9cV/2b7ae977cd5dd0f4abef2b4a062fb179/Report_-_People_Exposed_to_Climate_Change__Dec_2023_-_Feb_2024.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }