The world has had eleven consecutive months of abnormally warm temperatures, both in the air and on the surface of the oceans, despite the exhaustion of the natural climate phenomenon El Niño, the European Copernicus observatory reported on Wednesday.
El Niño “continued to weaken,” hinting at a possible respite later in the year, but without changing the fundamental trend of warming fueled by the massive use of oil, coal and fossil gas.
A temperature above 1.5º C
The world has recorded an abnormal average temperature since June of last year. April 2024 is no exception to this rule, with an average temperature of 15.03° C, which is 1.58° C higher than an average April in the pre-industrial era (1850-1900).
“Although unusual, a similar series of monthly records had already been observed in 2015/2016,” Copernicus however notes.
In the last twelve months, the global temperature has been 1.61° C higher than in the pre-industrial era, exceeding the limit of 1.5° C established by the Paris agreement. However, this anomaly must be observed on average over several decades to consider that the climate has reached this critical threshold.
However, these numbers show “how remarkable the global temperature conditions we are currently experiencing are,” highlighted Julien Nicolas, a climatologist at the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), in an interview with AFP.
Last month was the second warmest April ever recorded in Europe, as was March and the entire winter period.
Extreme weather contrasts
“Each additional degree of climate warming is accompanied by extreme climate events, both more intense and more likely,” recalled Julien Nicolas.
Recent weeks have been marked by extreme heat waves in Asia, from India to Vietnam, while southern Brazil suffered devastating floods.
However, regarding precipitation, Copernicus does not identify clear trends for April, reporting important contrasts around the world.
The month was wetter than normal in much of Europe, but drier in the south of the continent and in parts of the Balkans and Russia.
The situation is similar outside Europe: in much of North America, Central and East Asia, in the Persian Gulf and in southern Brazil, extreme rainfall has caused flooding, which continued in May.
But in northern Mexico, around the Caspian Sea and in much of Australia, drought has prevailed.
Oceans: slight slowdown
Ocean surface temperatures once again broke a monthly record in April, with an average of 21.04° C outside areas near the poles, marking the thirteenth consecutive monthly record.
This warming threatens marine life, increases humidity in the atmosphere, and jeopardizes the ability of the oceans to fulfill their crucial role in absorbing human-caused greenhouse gas emissions.
However, the temperature showed a slight slowdown compared to March and its absolute record of all months (21.07° C).
