Data from the first 11 months of 2024 reaffirmed that the Earth is on track to pass a tough milestone this year, according to the European Union’s Earth Observation Programme.
Temperatures in November 2024 will be 1.62 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Agency (C3S) said in a report on Monday, making it the 17th month in which global average surface temperatures exceeded 1.5 degrees Celsius. It was announced that it was the 16th consecutive month. According to C3S, November 2024 was the second warmest November after last November.
“It is now virtually certain that 2024 will be the warmest year on record, with temperatures rising by more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels,” C3S said in a statement on Monday. The service, which has data from November, predicts global temperatures in 2024 will be 1.59 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, up from 1.48 degrees Celsius last year.
Last month, C3S announced that 2024 is “almost certain” to be the hottest year on record, after temperatures in October 2024 were 1.65 degrees Celsius higher than pre-industrial levels.
C3S deputy director Samantha Burgess said: “This does not mean we have breached the Paris Agreement, but it does mean that ambitious climate action is more urgent than ever.”
Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, signatory countries are committed to reducing global greenhouse gas emissions with the goal of limiting global temperature rise this century to 1.5°C, below 2°C above pre-industrial levels. promised. According to the United Nations, an annual or monthly temperature of more than 1.5 degrees Celsius does not preclude meeting the agreement’s goal of increasing temperatures over several decades, but “if it exceeds 1.5 degrees Celsius in a single month or year… These are early signs that we are dangerously close to exceeding long-term thresholds and serve as a clarion call for increased ambition and accelerated action in this critical decade.”
Furthermore, a recent paper published in the journal Nature warned of the irreversible effects of exceeding the 1.5°C target, even temporarily.
Climate scientist and volcanologist Bill McGuire reacted to the news on Monday, saying: “The average temperature in 2024 is expected to be 1.60C. “The year itself was probably the warmest year in 120,000 years. Not surprising at all, but still.” This is shocking news. Will the temperature drop below 1.5℃ again? ”
This update comes on the heels of COP29, the latest UN climate change summit, which many climate change activists deemed a disappointment. During the summit, participants sought to conclude a climate finance agreement in which wealthy developed countries would contribute funds to help developing countries decarbonize and deal with the effects of the climate emergency. Critics say the final dollar amount was far less than what developing countries need.
