Crowds have begun gathering to greet 2025, waving goodbye to a year that brought Olympic glory, a dramatic Donald Trump return, and turmoil in the Middle East and Ukraine.
It is all but certain that 2024 will go down as the hottest year on record, with climate-fuelled disasters wreaking havoc from the plains of Europe to the Kathmandu Valley.
As New Year's Eve parties kicked into gear along Australia's Sydney Harbour, many revellers were relieved to see the past 12 months in the rearview mirror.
"It would be nice for the world if it all sort of fixed itself, sorted itself out," insurance worker Stuart Edwards, 32, said.
The self-proclaimed "New Year's capital of the world" let off nine tonnes of fireworks from its famed Opera House and Harbour Bridge at midnight.
The UK weather service has already forecast sweltering global temperatures for 2025, suggesting it is likely to rank among the hottest years recorded.
Meanwhile, in wintry northern Japan, heavy snowfall meant some passengers at Hokkaido's main airport may see in 2025 in the departure lounge.
"It was great to see snow, but I didn't think I would be trapped here," one man told local broadcaster HTB as flights were scrapped.
"I might have to stay at the airport tonight."
With electric vehicle sales growing and renewable energy on the rise, there is hope that glacial progress on climate change may finally gain momentum in 2025.
Pro-European Georgians rang in the New Year by setting off fireworks at ongoing month-long rallies against a ruling party they accuse of being under Russia's influence.
Key moments of 2024
Taylor Swift brought the curtain down on her Eras tour this year, pygmy hippo Moo Deng went viral, and football teen prodigy Lamine Yamal helped Spain conquer the Euros.
The Paris Olympics united the world for a brief few weeks in July and August.
Athletes swam in the Seine, raced in the shadows of the Eiffel Tower and rode horses across the manicured lawns outside the Palace of Versailles.
It was a global year of elections, with millions of people going to the polls in more than 60 countries.
Vladimir Putin prevailed in a Russian ballot widely dismissed as a sham, while a student uprising in Bangladesh toppled the reigning prime minister.
However, no vote was as closely watched as the 5 November contest that will soon see Donald Trump back in the White House.
From Mexico to the Middle East, his looming return as commander-in-chief is already making waves.
The president-elect has threatened to pile economic pain on China, and boasted of his ability to halt the Ukraine war within "24 hours".
Russia's invasion of Ukraine inches towards its three-year anniversary in February.
Outgunned on its eastern flank, Ukraine must now contend with a Trump administration seemingly intent on winding back crucial military aid.
On the streets of Kyiv, teacher Kateryna Chemeryz wanted "peace to finally be obtained for Ukraine".
War in the Middle East
Turmoil rippled across the Middle East as Bashar al-Assad fled Syria, Israel marched into southern Lebanon, and doctored electronics exploded in a wave of Israeli assassinations targeting Hezbollah.
Civilians grew weary of the grinding war in Gaza, where dwindling stocks of food, shelter and medicine made a humanitarian crisis even bleaker.
"I lost many loved ones, including my father and close friends, starting from the beginning of the year," Wafaa Hajjaj told AFP from Deir el-Balah, where masses of displaced residents now cram into crowded tents.
"May security and safety return, and may the war finally come to an end."
There was hope and trepidation as the new year approached in Syria, which is still reeling after Islamist rebels toppled longtime ruler Assad.
"We were hesitant to go out this year because of the security situation, but we decided to overcome our fears," lawyer Maram Ayoub, 34, told AFP from the capital Damascus.
In Sudan, marking its second new year under the shadow of war between the regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, many wished for the same.
"We hope to come back to our houses safe and sound this year, for this war to end and just to be able to see home once more," Fatma Mohamed said in Port Sudan.
Tens of thousands have been killed in the fighting, while more than 12 million have been uprooted and millions more face mass starvation.
Looking ahead
With AI advances on the horizon and rampant inflation tipped to slow, there is plenty to look forward to in 2025.
On the music front, Oasis will make a long-awaited reunion, while K-pop megastars BTS return to the stage after military service in South Korea.
Football fans will be treated to a revamped 32-team Club World Cup hosted by the US.
About 400 million pilgrims are expected at the spectacular Kumbh Mela festival on India's sacred riverbanks - billed as the largest gathering of its kind.
