2024 Likely to Be the Warmest Year on Record, Warns Copernicus Climate Change Service

The European climate change service Copernicus has reported that global temperatures for the January-August period were 0.70 degrees Celsius above the 1991-2020 average. This trend indicates that 2024 is increasingly likely to be the warmest year on record, surpassing previous anomalies and extreme temperature events.

According to the European climate change service Copernicus, global temperatures for the January-August period were 0.70 degrees Celsius above the 1991-2020 average, raising concerns that 2024 may become the warmest year on record.

The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) reported that August 2024 was the joint warmest August globally, with an average surface air temperature of 16.82 degrees Celsius, 0.71 degrees Celsius above the 1991-2020 average for the month, and 1.51 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

Despite previous temperature anomalies, 2024 is on track to potentially surpass 2023 as the hottest year unless substantial cooling occurs, which has not been seen since 1940. Samantha Burgess, deputy director of C3S, emphasized that record temperatures this summer highlight the need for urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

(With inputs from agencies.)