BRUSSELS – The European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Agency (C3S) announced on Thursday that the world has experienced the hottest January on record, as extreme heat continues, fueled by climate change.
Last month surpassed the previous warmest January in 2020 in C3S records dating back to 1950.
of exceptional The month after 2023 ranks as the #1 planet. hottest year World records date back to 1850, as temperatures have increased due to anthropogenic climate change and the El Niño phenomenon, which increases surface water temperatures in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
Each month since June has been the world’s hottest on record compared to the same month last year.
C3S Deputy Director Samantha Burgess said: “We have just experienced not only the warmest January on record, but also a 12-month period with temperatures exceeding pre-industrial benchmarks by more than 1.5 degrees Celsius.
“Rapidly reducing greenhouse gas emissions is the only way to stop global temperatures from rising,” she says.
US scientists say there is a one in three chance that 2024 will be even hotter than last year, and a 99% chance that it will be in the top five hottest years.
The El Niño phenomenon started to weaken last month. Scientist, opens in a new tab It suggests that a transition to a cooler La Niña event may occur later this year.
Still, last month’s global average sea surface temperature was the highest on record for January.
In the 2015 Paris Agreement, countries agreed to work to prevent global warming from exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius to avoid causing more serious and irreversible consequences.
Despite exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius in 12 months, the world has yet to break the goal of the Paris Agreement, which refers to average global temperatures over several decades.
some scientists Although it states that this target is no longer realistically achievable, CO2 emissions must be It urges governments to act more quickly to reduce emissions. .
