For the first time, in 2024, global temperatures topped 1.5 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels (1850-1900). For 11 months of the year, the global average temperature was in excess of 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

This increase in the temperature was caused by greenhouse gases. Concentrations of carbon dioxide reached a new high of 422 parts per million in 2024. The increase is primarily due to emissions from fossil fuels.

Climate Change Vulnerability in Nepal

Nepal is highly vulnerable to climate change. According to the Climate Risk Index, Nepal ranks 10th in the world as a country most affected by climate hazards.

Between 1971 and 2014, Nepal’s temperature increased by 0.056 degrees Celsius every year. By the 2080s, the temperature in Nepal is projected to increase by 1.2°C to 4.2°C. Warming in Nepal is expected to be higher than the global average.

According to one study, warming would cause a loss of 36% to 64% of the ice mass in Asia’s high mountain glaciers by the end of the twenty-first century. Furthermore, changes in rainfall patterns will have an enormous impact on water security, hydropower capacity, and agricultural output.

Climate change will likely increase the frequency and severity of certain extreme events. Drought frequency will most likely have an influence on rain-dependent agriculture. A decrease in agricultural production would have a major impact on food security.

Nepal’s susceptibility to vector-borne diseases is likely to be amplified by climate change.

The Asian Development Bank anticipates that Nepal will lose 2.2% of its yearly GDP by 2050 due to climate change.

Paris Agreement

The main goal of the Paris Agreement is to hold “the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels” and pursue efforts “to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.”
The record increase in earth temperature in 2024 could raise climate concerns over the targets set under the Paris Agreement. Though this temperature increase has been recorded for a single year, the agreement aims to limit the global temperature rise over an extended period.

As a country highly vulnerable to climate change, Nepal faces severe challenges from rising global temperatures. The year 2024 signals a pressing call for action to mitigate and adapt to the growing climate crisis in Nepal.