New Delhi: With millions of people across five continents experiencing scorching heat last month, the European Union's climate agency, Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), confirmed on Monday that June was the warmest on record.
It also marked the 12th consecutive month in which global temperatures reached or exceeded the 1.5 degree Celsius threshold.
According to C3S ERA5 data, every month since June last year has been the warmest month on record. In January, the world completed an entire year in which the average surface air temperature exceeded the threshold of 1.5 Celsius degrees. June was the 12th consecutive month with monthly average temperatures above the pre-industrial average of 1850-1900.
At the 2015 UN climate talks in Paris, world leaders pledged to limit the rise in global average temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial period to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. However, a permanent violation of the 1.5 degrees Celsius limit specified in the Paris Agreement refers to long-term warming over a period of 20 or 30 years.
The Earth's global surface temperature has already increased by about 1.2 degrees Celsius compared to the 1850-1900 average due to the rapid increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases (mainly carbon dioxide and methane) in the atmosphere. This warming is considered to be the reason behind record droughts, wildfires and floods around the world. According to data from the EU climate agency, June 2024 was the warmest on record, with an average surface air temperature of 16.66 degrees Celsius, 0.67 degrees Celsius above the average for the month 1991-2020 and 0.14 degrees Celsius above the previous maximum set in June. 2023.
"The month was 1.5 degrees Celsius above the estimated June average for 1850-1900, the designated pre-industrial reference period, making it the 12th consecutive month to meet or exceed the 1.5 degree threshold," C3S said in a statement.
It was also the 13th consecutive month of record temperatures, a result of the combined effect of the 2023-24 El Niño event and human-caused climate change. While unusual, a similar streak of monthly global temperature records previously occurred in 2015-16. "This is more than a statistical oddity and highlights a large and ongoing change in our climate. Even if this specific streak of extremes ends At some point, we are likely to see new records broken as the climate continues to warm. This is inevitable unless we stop adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere and oceans," said Carlo Buontempo, director of C3S.
The Secretary General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Celeste Saulo, said that the latest C3S figures unfortunately highlight that "we will be exceeding the level of 1.5 degrees Celsius temporarily" with an increasing frequency, monthly. "However, it is important to stress that temporary breaches do not mean that the 1.5 degrees Celsius target is permanently missed because this refers to long-term warming over at least two decades," she said.
The EU climate agency said the global average temperature for the past 12 months (July 2023 to June 2024) is the highest on record, 0.76 degrees Celsius above the 1991-2020 average and 1.64 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average of 1850-1900. .The global sea surface temperature (SST) in June was also the highest ever recorded for the month. This is the 15th consecutive month that the SST has been the warmest in the ERA5 data record for the respective month of the year.
Several countries experienced unprecedented heat and devastating floods and storms in June.
According to an analysis by Climate Central, an independent group of scientists and communicators based in the United States, more than 60 percent of the world's population faced extreme heat that was at least three times more likely due to climate change between 16 and 20. June 24. .Climate Central said the scorching June heat affected 619 million (Rs 61.9 million) people in India, 579 million (Rs 57.9 million) in China, 231 million (Rs 23.1 million) in Indonesia, 206 million (Rs 20.6 million) in Nigeria, 176 million (Rs 17.6 million) in Nigeria. crore) in Brazil, 171 million (17.1 crore) in Bangladesh, 165 million (16.5 crore) in the US, 152 million (15.2 crore) in Europe, 123 million (12.3 crore) in Mexico, 121 million (12.1 crore) in Ethiopia and 103 million (10.3 crore) in Egypt.
“June saw widespread and prolonged heat waves in many countries, with significant impacts on all aspects of people's lives. This was even before the traditional peak of summer in the northern hemisphere, which will undoubtedly see more extreme heat. Record sea surface temperatures are of great concern for vital marine ecosystems and also provide energy to power tropical cyclones, as we saw with Hurricane Beryl,” said WMO Secretary-General Saulo.
Temperatures were mostly above average in eastern Canada, the western United States and Mexico, Brazil, northern Siberia, the Middle East, northern Africa and western Antarctica. According to the Meteorological Department of the India (IMD), Northwest India recorded its warmest June since 1901.
India, which experienced one of its longest heat waves, recorded more than 40,000 suspected cases of heat stroke and more than 100 heat-related deaths.
According to the IMD, 11 states recorded between 20 and 38 heat wave days (up to four times the usual number of such days) during the April-June period. The mercury surpassed 50 degrees Celsius in some parts of Rajasthan, with night temperatures hovering around 35 degrees Celsius in many places.
It also marked the 12th consecutive month in which global temperatures reached or exceeded the 1.5 degree Celsius threshold.
According to C3S ERA5 data, every month since June last year has been the warmest month on record. In January, the world completed an entire year in which the average surface air temperature exceeded the threshold of 1.5 Celsius degrees. June was the 12th consecutive month with monthly average temperatures above the pre-industrial average of 1850-1900.
At the 2015 UN climate talks in Paris, world leaders pledged to limit the rise in global average temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial period to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. However, a permanent violation of the 1.5 degrees Celsius limit specified in the Paris Agreement refers to long-term warming over a period of 20 or 30 years.
The Earth's global surface temperature has already increased by about 1.2 degrees Celsius compared to the 1850-1900 average due to the rapid increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases (mainly carbon dioxide and methane) in the atmosphere. This warming is considered to be the reason behind record droughts, wildfires and floods around the world. According to data from the EU climate agency, June 2024 was the warmest on record, with an average surface air temperature of 16.66 degrees Celsius, 0.67 degrees Celsius above the average for the month 1991-2020 and 0.14 degrees Celsius above the previous maximum set in June. 2023.
"The month was 1.5 degrees Celsius above the estimated June average for 1850-1900, the designated pre-industrial reference period, making it the 12th consecutive month to meet or exceed the 1.5 degree threshold," C3S said in a statement.
It was also the 13th consecutive month of record temperatures, a result of the combined effect of the 2023-24 El Niño event and human-caused climate change. While unusual, a similar streak of monthly global temperature records previously occurred in 2015-16. "This is more than a statistical oddity and highlights a large and ongoing change in our climate. Even if this specific streak of extremes ends At some point, we are likely to see new records broken as the climate continues to warm. This is inevitable unless we stop adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere and oceans," said Carlo Buontempo, director of C3S.
The Secretary General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Celeste Saulo, said that the latest C3S figures unfortunately highlight that "we will be exceeding the level of 1.5 degrees Celsius temporarily" with an increasing frequency, monthly. "However, it is important to stress that temporary breaches do not mean that the 1.5 degrees Celsius target is permanently missed because this refers to long-term warming over at least two decades," she said.
The EU climate agency said the global average temperature for the past 12 months (July 2023 to June 2024) is the highest on record, 0.76 degrees Celsius above the 1991-2020 average and 1.64 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average of 1850-1900. .The global sea surface temperature (SST) in June was also the highest ever recorded for the month. This is the 15th consecutive month that the SST has been the warmest in the ERA5 data record for the respective month of the year.
Several countries experienced unprecedented heat and devastating floods and storms in June.
According to an analysis by Climate Central, an independent group of scientists and communicators based in the United States, more than 60 percent of the world's population faced extreme heat that was at least three times more likely due to climate change between 16 and 20. June 24. .Climate Central said the scorching June heat affected 619 million (Rs 61.9 million) people in India, 579 million (Rs 57.9 million) in China, 231 million (Rs 23.1 million) in Indonesia, 206 million (Rs 20.6 million) in Nigeria, 176 million (Rs 17.6 million) in Nigeria. crore) in Brazil, 171 million (17.1 crore) in Bangladesh, 165 million (16.5 crore) in the US, 152 million (15.2 crore) in Europe, 123 million (12.3 crore) in Mexico, 121 million (12.1 crore) in Ethiopia and 103 million (10.3 crore) in Egypt.
“June saw widespread and prolonged heat waves in many countries, with significant impacts on all aspects of people's lives. This was even before the traditional peak of summer in the northern hemisphere, which will undoubtedly see more extreme heat. Record sea surface temperatures are of great concern for vital marine ecosystems and also provide energy to power tropical cyclones, as we saw with Hurricane Beryl,” said WMO Secretary-General Saulo.
Temperatures were mostly above average in eastern Canada, the western United States and Mexico, Brazil, northern Siberia, the Middle East, northern Africa and western Antarctica. According to the Meteorological Department of the India (IMD), Northwest India recorded its warmest June since 1901.
India, which experienced one of its longest heat waves, recorded more than 40,000 suspected cases of heat stroke and more than 100 heat-related deaths.
According to the IMD, 11 states recorded between 20 and 38 heat wave days (up to four times the usual number of such days) during the April-June period. The mercury surpassed 50 degrees Celsius in some parts of Rajasthan, with night temperatures hovering around 35 degrees Celsius in many places.
