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Firefighters in the hills of Valparaiso, Chile, on February 3, 2024, as the country ravages the deadliest fires on record.
Story highlights
Heat records for land and sea have fallen over the past year
The climate crisis is primarily caused by humans burning coal, oil and gas
Global average sea surface temperature in January was the hottest on record
Extreme weather events are further accelerated by El Niño, scientists say
CNN
—
New data shows global warming has exceeded 1.5 degrees Celsius for the first time on record in the past 12 months, crossing a critical threshold that, if continued, would push the limits of adaptation for life on Earth.
Temperatures last year were on average 1.52 degrees warmer than pre-industrial temperatures, according to data from Copernicus, the European Union's climate and weather monitoring service. This 12-month average was pushed by the hottest January on record, which was 1.66 degrees warmer than his pre-industrial average January temperature.
Limiting global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius, and preferably below 1.5 degrees Celsius, was a central goal of the Paris Agreement, signed by most of the world's countries in 2015.
Scientists are more concerned about multi-year Although warming continues to exceed these benchmarks, the 12-month record shows the world is rapidly approaching the limits of the Paris Agreement.
Matt Patterson, a postdoctoral researcher in atmospheric physics at the University of Oxford, said the record was an “important milestone” but did not mean the Paris Agreement had failed.
“However, rising temperatures above 1.5 degrees per year highlights the rapidly shrinking amount of time humanity has to make significant emissions cuts and avoid dangerous climate change. ”
Heat records on land and ocean have decreased over the past year. Copernicus said the past eight consecutive months were the hottest on record, and 2023 was the hottest month of the calendar year.
January's global average sea surface temperature was also the warmest on record for that month, 0.26 degrees warmer than the previous record set in 2016.
“2024 begins with another record-breaking month. Not only was January the warmest on record, but we just completed 12 months in a row that was more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial reference period,” said Copernicus. says Samantha Burgess. said in her statement. She said: “Rapid reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are the only way to stop global temperatures from rising.”
The climate crisis is primarily caused by humans burning coal, oil, and gas for energy. El Niño, a natural climate pattern that originates from the Pacific Ocean, has also caused temperatures to rise in many parts of the world in recent months.
Scientists say long-term global warming is already making extreme weather events more frequent and severe, but El Niño is making them even more intense. The combination of the two has proven particularly destructive.
More than 120 people have been killed and entire neighborhoods have been reduced to ashes by more than 160 wildfires that swept through parts of Chile this week, making it the deadliest wildfire in the country's recent history.
Scientists say the twin threats have accelerated California's storms this week, producing more rainfall and making them more destructive.
