Climate change is being felt more and more. Average global temperatures for the last 12 months have set a record, increasing by 1.56 degrees Celsius. February was the warmest month on record, thus marking the ninth month in a row with rising temperatures.
Global sea surface temperatures are also at their highest ever recorded, according to the European Union's Climate Change Service. The data shows that February was 1.77 degrees Celsius warmer than the average for the period 1850-1900 and 0.81 degrees Celsius warmer than the average for the period 1991-2020. The average global temperature for the past 12 months between March 2023 and February 2024 was the highest on record, reaching 1.56 degrees Celsius. This is an alarm bell, as negative impacts are expected.
While the European winter, from December to February, was the second warmest, from the data recorded in the continental range. Excluding the polar regions, global average sea surface temperatures for February were the highest compared to other months. 21.06 degrees Celsius was the new record, which broke the previous one, 20.98 degrees, recorded in August 2023.
Carlo Buontempo, director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, said:
"February joins the long streak of records in recent months. As extraordinary as this may seem, it is not surprising, as continued warming of the climate system inevitably leads to new temperature extremes," adding: "Climate responds to current concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, so if we fail to stabilize them, we will inevitably face new global temperature records and their consequences."
Dr Friederike Otto, lecturer in climate science at the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment: "There is now so much evidence that our climate is warming. You can deny climate change if you want, you can also claim that The Earth is flat, but billions of measurements from weather stations, satellites, ships and planes point to a very basic fact: Our planet is heating up at an alarming rate."
Dr. Otto continued:
"People should not be surprised that we have broken another record. Humans continue to burn oil, gas and coal, so the climate continues to warm. It's a relationship they understand very well. There is no magic solution to climate change. We know what we need to do: Stop burning fossil fuels and replace them with sustainable, renewable energy sources," adding that until we do, temperatures will continue to destroy lives and ecosystems.
