The unusual warmth that first enveloped the planet last summer has continued into this year, with last month marking the hottest January on record, according to the European Union's climate watchdog.
The European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Agency said this was the hottest January on record in the oceans.
Sea surface temperatures were slightly lower than those recorded in August last year, which was Shanghai's warmest month on record. Sea temperatures continued to rise during the first few days of February, surpassing the daily record set last August.
The oceans absorb much of the excess heat that greenhouse gases in the atmosphere trap near the surface, making them a reliable indicator of the extent and rate of global warming. Warmer oceans can create more fuel for hurricanes and river storms in the atmosphere, disrupting marine life.
January was the eighth month in a row that average temperatures not only in the ocean but across the continent exceeded previous records for this time of year. Overall, 2023 was the hottest year on Earth in more than 150 years.
The main cause of this warmth is not a mystery to scientists. Fossil fuel burning, deforestation, and other human activities have caused temperatures to rise steadily for more than a century. The current El Niño weather cycle releases more ocean heat into the atmosphere.
But exactly why the Earth has gotten so hot for so long in recent months is still debated among researchers, less predictable, and perhaps less understood. We are waiting for more data to see if there are other contributing factors as well. Working around the margins.
“Rapidly reducing greenhouse gas emissions is the only way to stop global temperatures from rising,” Copernicus deputy director Samantha Burgess said in a statement.
“Not only is this the warmest January on record, but it also marks the 12th consecutive month of more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial reference period.”
Temperatures in January were well above average in eastern Canada, northwestern Africa, the Middle East and central Asia, while much of the interior of the United States was colder than usual, according to Copernicus data. Parts of South America are warmer and drier than usual, which contributed to the recent forest fires that devastated central Chile.
In response to the recent intensity of the ocean's heat waves, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in December added three new levels to its ocean heat warning system that indicates where corals may be bleaching or dying.
El Niño patterns, such as the one currently observed in the Pacific Ocean, are not only associated with warmer global years, but also with far-reaching effects on rainfall and temperature in specific regions.
But as humans warm the planet, the effects of El Niño on local temperatures that forecasters once could confidently predict are no longer as predictable. Michel La Roux, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientist who studies La Niña, said.
“Regions that previously tended to experience below-average temperatures during El Niño events now rarely see that,” Rollou said. “We're seeing things that are close to average or still above average.”
This article was originally published in The New York Times.
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