How To Monitor Temperature Ubuntu 24.04 [Solved]

Table of Contents

Immediate Fix: Install and Run lm-sensors

The fastest way to monitor temperature on Ubuntu 24.04 is by using the lm-sensors package. This utility provides real-time data for your CPU, GPU, and motherboard thermal sensors directly from the terminal.

First, update your package list and install the utility:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install lm-sensors -y

Once installed, you must detect your hardware sensors. Run the following command and type “YES” (or hit Enter) for all prompts to ensure every sensor is identified:

sudo sensors-detect

To view your temperatures immediately, run:

sensors

To keep the output updated every second in real-time, use the watch command:

watch sensors

Technical Explanation

Ubuntu 24.04 reads thermal data through the Linux kernel’s hwmon (Hardware Monitoring) subsystem. This system communicates with the ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface) and specific driver modules for your chipset.

In Ubuntu 24.04, overheating warnings are often triggered when the kernel detects a “Critical Trip Point.” This occurs when the hardware exceeds a pre-defined safety threshold, causing the OS to throttle the CPU frequency or force a shutdown to prevent permanent damage.

Common causes for sudden temperature spikes in 24.04 include outdated microcode, background indexing services, or driver conflicts with the new Linux kernel 6.8+ architecture.

Alternative Methods

1. Psensor (Graphical Interface)

If you prefer a visual graph and a system tray icon, Psensor is the standard GUI choice for Ubuntu. It uses lm-sensors as a backend to display temperature trends over time.

sudo apt install psensor -y

2. btop (Advanced CLI)

For a modern, interactive dashboard that shows temperature alongside per-core usage and RAM, btop is highly recommended for Ubuntu 24.04 users.

sudo apt install btop -y

3. HardInfo

HardInfo provides a full system report, including thermal sensor data, in a format similar to Device Manager on Windows.

sudo apt install hardinfo -y

Below is a comparison of the best tools for monitoring thermal performance on Ubuntu 24.04:

Tool Name	Interface Type	Key Advantage
lm-sensors	Command Line	Lightweight and universal compatibility.
Psensor	GUI / Desktop	System tray alerts and visual graphs.
btop	Terminal Dashboard	Real-time per-core heat mapping.
Glances	Web/CLI	Remote monitoring capabilities.