Asia is now heating up almost twice as fast as the global land and ocean average, bringing more extreme weather events and heightened climate vulnerabilities, according to the World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) latest assessment. The State of the Climate in Asia 2024 report, released on June 23, outlines how rising temperatures are fuelling destructive heatwaves, droughts, floods and accelerating glacial melt across the region.
The annual mean temperature anomaly for Asia in 2024 stood at 1.04°C above the 1991–2020 average. Depending on the dataset, 2024 ranks as either the warmest or the second warmest year on record in Asia. WMO analysed data from six major climate databases, including Berkeley Earth, ERA5, and NOAA Global Temp.
The report highlights a significant rise in temperatures across vast parts of Asia, with western China to Japan, the Indochina Peninsula, and central northern Siberia seeing especially severe warming. Japan experienced its hottest year ever, while other countries like India, Myanmar, China, and Thailand battled prolonged heatwaves.
In India alone, over 450 people died due to extreme heat. Myanmar broke its all-time temperature record with 48.2°C recorded at Chank on April 28. Similar temperature spikes were recorded across East Asia, with new monthly heat records set in Japan, South Korea, and China multiple times through the year.
Thailand faced intense heat, particularly between April 27 and May 2, when maximum temperatures in some parts rose more than 5°C above the seasonal norm. Asia’s surrounding oceans are also warming at an alarming pace. Sea surface temperatures in Asian waters are increasing at 0.24°C per decade—almost double the global average. In 2024, the largest area ever recorded was affected by marine heatwaves, impacting nearly 15 million square kilometres during August and September alone—equivalent to about 10% of the Earth’s ocean surface.
Rising sea levels in the Indian and Pacific Oceans have further compounded the threat to low-lying coastal regions. The cryosphere, or frozen water parts of Asia, is also in decline. Twenty-three out of 24 monitored glaciers suffered mass loss last year. In the central Himalayas and Tian Shan, reduced snowfall and extreme heat drove record-breaking glacier retreat. Urumqi Glacier No.1 in Tian Shan recorded its worst mass balance since measurements began in 1959. These changes threaten long-term water security across South and Central Asia.
In 2024, Asia also endured a series of deadly weather disasters. Tropical Cyclone Yagi, the region’s strongest storm of the year, caused widespread devastation in the Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, China, Thailand, and Laos. In India, Wayanad in Kerala was hit by fatal landslides after 500 mm of rain fell within 48 hours, killing over 350 people. Lightning claimed around 1,300 lives across India, with 72 fatalities recorded in a single day—July 10—in five states. Flooding in Central Asia displaced over 118,000 people, while Nepal saw deadly floods and over \$94 million in damages.
The UAE experienced one of its most extreme rain events since 1949. In contrast, drought affected nearly five million people in China, leading to crop damage and financial losses exceeding \$400 million.The report underscores the urgency of climate action and adaptation in Asia, as rising temperatures continue to magnify the impacts of both natural and human-induced hazards.