The Middle East and North Africa recorded their hottest year on record in 2024, with temperatures rising at twice the global average of recent decades, the U.N. weather agency said in a report.

Heatwaves in the region are becoming longer and more intense, according to the World Meteorological Organization's first report focused on the area. "Temperatures are rising at twice the global average, with intense heatwaves that are pushing society to the limits," said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.

The average temperature in 2024 was 1.08 degrees Celsius above the 1991-2020 average, the report found, with the highest in Algeria at 1.64 C above the average of the last 30 years. Saulo warned that extended periods of more than 50 C in a number of Arab countries were "too hot to handle" for h

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