Climate change does not stop and March continued the trend that began in 2023 of a series of records without stopping. We have already accumulated 10 consecutive months in which all historical maximums for temperature rise have been exceeded since records exist, according to the European Copernicus Program in its latest report.
The global warming curve, far from bending, is shooting out with increasing force. Last month was the warmest March globally, with the average surface air temperature reaching 0.73 degrees Celsius compared to average values recorded between 1991 and 2020. The previous record for March temperature was in 2016, but this year it exceeded it by 0.10 degrees Celsius. Celsius.
The problem is not just March, but the cumulative warming over the past 12 months, from April 2023 to March 2024. And here lies the main concern, as Copernicus data attests that the temperature over the past 12 months “is the highest on record.” , which is already 1.58 degrees Celsius higher than the pre-industrial average of 1850-1900.
It should be remembered that the supposedly insurmountable limit set by the Paris Agreement was an increase of 1.5°C by the end of the century, but it seems increasingly clear that it will not be possible to achieve this goal. We are not yet a quarter of the twenty-first century, and this barrier has already been overcome. While 1.58°C may still be reversible, experts believe it is also possible it could continue to rise further.
Registrations in Europe
In the case of Europe, March was the second warmest March on record on the continent, but was only 0.02°C colder than the warmest March on record in 2014. Arguably, a tie has already been made.
Outside Europe, temperatures were above average in eastern North America, Greenland, eastern Russia, Central America, parts of South America, several regions of Africa, southern Australia and parts of Antarctica.
Although El Niño is weakening in the tropical Pacific, the fact is that sea air temperatures “generally remained at an unusually high level,” notes the Copernicus press release. In fact, global sea warming also broke records in March, when the average temperature reached 21.07 degrees Celsius, the highest level on record in March.
Samantha Burgess, deputy director of Copernicus, said: “March 2024 continues a string of broken climate records for air and sea surface temperatures, making it the tenth consecutive month on record. The average global temperature is the highest on record, and year-round during The past 12 months were 1.58 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.“To slow global warming, it is necessary to reduce greenhouse gas emissions quickly,” he added.
As for melting polar ice, Antarctic sea ice extent was 20% below average in March, making it the sixth lowest extent on record for the month. This negative trend began in 2017 and continues to increase.
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