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WASHINGTON (AP) – The Earth wiped out global heat records for the ninth month in a row, February turned into winter overall and the world’s oceans hit a new high, according to the European Union’s climate change agency Copernicus. The temperature was recorded.
The latest record update among these is Driven by climate change The global heat record includes sea surface temperatures that are not only the hottest February, but also higher than any other month on record, soaring past the record set in August 2023 and continuing to rise at the end of the month. included. And February, like the two winter months before it, rose well above internationally set long-term warming thresholds, Copernicus reported Wednesday.
The last month that did not set a record for the hottest month was May 2023, which was the third highest after 2020 and 2016.copernicus record fell regularly from June.
The average temperature in February 2024 was 13.54 degrees Celsius (56.37 degrees Fahrenheit), beating the old record set in 2016 by about 8 degrees. Copernicus calculated that February was 1.77 degrees Celsius (3.19 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than it was in the late 19th century. Last December was the only month in which prices were higher than pre-industrial levels than in February.
A man paddles in the Mediterranean Sea in Barcelona, Spain, February 4, 2024 (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
The 2015 Paris Agreement set a goal for the world to strive to keep temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit). The Copernican numbers are monthly and are not exactly the same as the Paris Threshold measurement system, which is averaged over 20 to 30 years. However, according to Copernicus data, temperatures have risen by more than 1.5 degrees Celsius in the past eight months since July 2023.
Climate scientists say most of the record heat is due to human-caused climate change due to carbon dioxide and methane emissions from burning coal, oil and natural gas. The additional heat is Natural El Niño phenomenonwarming of the central Pacific Ocean changes global weather patterns.
“Given that a strong El Niño event has been occurring since mid-2023, it is not surprising that global temperatures would be higher than normal, as El Niño pumps heat from the ocean into the atmosphere, raising temperatures. No. But the amount by which records were broken is alarming,” said Jennifer Francis, a climate scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center.
“Also, there is still a ‘hotspot’ over the North Pole, where the rate of warming is much faster than the Earth as a whole, causing a cascade of effects across the planet. fishing,Ecosystem, ice meltschanged ocean current pattern It has long-term and far-reaching effects,” Francis added.
Francesca Guglielmo, senior climate scientist at Copernicus, said the record high ocean temperatures outside the Pacific Ocean, where El Niño is occurring, showed this was more than a natural effect.
Sea surface temperatures in the North Atlantic have been at record levels each day compared to a specific date for a solid year since March 5, 2023, according to University of Miami tropical scientists. There is such a difference that it seems possible.” Brian McNoldy.
These other ocean areas are “symptoms of the trapped heat of greenhouse gases that have accumulated over decades,” Francis said in an email. “That heat is emerging now and pushing temperatures into uncharted territory.”
“These extreme high temperatures are very concerning,” said Natalie Mahowald, a climate scientist at Cornell University. “We need to act quickly to reduce CO2 emissions to avoid further increases in temperatures.”
Flowers bloom in St James’s Park after a rainy day in London on February 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
This winter, December, January and February were the warmest, with temperatures almost a quarter of a degree warmer than in 2016, which also experienced an El Niño event. This three-month period was the most in Copernican records dating back to 1940, when temperatures exceeded pre-industrial levels.
Francis expressed how bad the situation is on a scale of 1 to 10, giving what is happening now “a 10, but we’ll soon need a new scale, because if society has to improve it… For example, today’s 10 points will become 5 points in the future.” Prevents the build-up of heat-trapping gases. ”
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For more information on AP’s climate coverage, visit: http://www.apnews.com/climate-and-environment
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Follow Seth Borenstein on X @borenbears
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