A year with global record values for every month – and the Earth is warming faster and faster: May was the twelfth month in a row in which the global average temperature reached a record value for the month in question.
When it comes to the record values, it must be taken into account that special effects such as the warming natural climate phenomenon El Niño have recently played a greater role.
The report ‘Indicators of Global Climate Change’ (IGCC) states that the increase is on the one hand due to high greenhouse gas emissions, and on the other hand that the amount of cooling aerosols in the atmosphere has decreased. For example, as a result of new regulations for cleaner marine fuels, the content of sulphate aerosols had fallen sharply.
Man-made global warming is increasing faster than ever
In the past decade alone (2014 to 2023), temperatures increased by about 0.26 degrees due to human activities. This is a record for recordings with measuring equipment dating back to the 19th century, reports the group led by Piers Forster of the University of Leeds in the journal ‘Earth System Science Data’. According to the university, ten years earlier (2004 to 2013) there had been approximately 0.20 degrees of warming.
Greenhouse gases are fueling the climate crisis
The trend of human-induced climate change will continue as long as greenhouse gases are produced. The director of the EU Climate Change Agency, Copernicus, Carlo Buontempo, stressed: “While this streak of record months will eventually be broken, the overall climate change signature remains and no change in this trend is in sight.”
Global temperatures peaked
Compared to the period 1850 to 1900, the pre-industrial reference period, May was 1.52 degrees warmer, according to the data. The average global temperature over the past twelve months – from June 2023 to May 2024 – also peaked at 1.63 degrees above pre-industrial levels.
According to the IGCC report, humans may produce roughly 200 billion tons of CO₂ before permanent global warming of up to 1.5 degrees is achieved. That roughly corresponds to five years’ current emissions. However, the range of estimates is wide, ranging from 100 to 450 billion tons.
UN Secretary General António Guterres, as he has done several times before, called for faster action: “We are breaking global temperature records and reaping the benefits of the whirlwind. It is the time of the climate crisis. Now is the time to mobilize, take action and deliver results.”
Source: Krone
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