June's global temperature set a record for 13th consecutive month
The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), the European Union's climate agency, has said that June was the hottest month ever recorded. This marks a year-long trend of global temperatures exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial averages each month. According to C3S, the month was 1.5 degrees Celsius above the estimated June average for 1850-1900, making it the 12th consecutive month to reach or break the 1.5-degree threshold.
Unprecedented heat linked to climate change
The global average temperature has risen by approximately 1.2 degrees Celsius since the pre-industrial period of 1850-1900, primarily due to increased greenhouse gas concentrations. This rise is attributed to record-breaking droughts, wildfires, and floods worldwide. Carlo Buontempo, the director of C3S, stated that this is more than a statistical oddity and highlights a large and continuing shift in our climate. He warned that new records are likely unless greenhouse gas emissions are curtailed.
Warmest month in recorded history
June 2024 set a new record as the warmest month with an average surface air temperature of 16.66 degrees Celsius. This is 0.67 degrees Celsius above the June average for the period from 1991-2020 and 0.14 degrees Celsius higher than the previous record set in June 2023. This also marks the thirteenth consecutive month of record-breaking temperatures, a pattern previously observed during the El Nino event of 2015-2016.
Concern over global warming
The 2015 United Nations climate talks in Paris saw world leaders commit to limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, aiming to prevent the worst impacts of climate change. However, a permanent breach of this limit indicates long-term warming over a period of 20 or 30 years. Buontempo warned that new records are bound to be broken as the climate continues to warm, unless we stop adding greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and the oceans.
