Record-Breaking Heat: Copernicus Reports Hottest Boreal Summer on Record
The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), the climate monitoring arm of the European Space Program, announced on Friday that the boreal summer of 2024 registered the hottest temperatures recorded globally since monitoring began. Analysis of June, July, and August temperatures revealed they exceeded the average for this period from 1990 to 2020 by 0.69 degrees Celsius, slightly eclipsing the record set just last summer.
Specifically, the boreal summer of 2023 also experienced elevated temperatures, above the pre-2020 average by 0.66 degrees. According to data collected from satellites, ships, airplanes, and weather stations worldwide since 1940, August 2024 marked the highest surface air temperature globally, averaging 16.82 degrees Celsius. This was recorded at 0.71 degrees above the August average for the 1991-2020 period. Notably, August 2024 was 1.51 degrees warmer than preindustrial levels, positioning it as the thirteenth month in a fourteen-month series in which surface air temperatures have consistently surpassed 1.5 degrees above those levels.
The global average temperature for the past twelve months stands as the highest ever observed, indicating a staggering 0.76 degrees above the 1991-2020 average and 1.64 degrees warmer than the preindustrial average spanning 1850 to 1900. The Copernicus statement detailed that the temperature anomaly so far in 2024 is 0.70 degrees higher than the 1991-2020 average, marking a record increase and 0.23 degrees warmer than the same timeframe in 2023.
Samantha Burgess, Deputy Director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, pointed out that the last three months of 2024 witnessed extraordinary heat, including the hottest days ever logged and the most extreme boreal summer on record.
For surface water temperatures, August 2024 also revealed the second highest value ever recorded, reaching 20.91 degrees Celsius, just 0.07 degrees below the record set in August 2023. While Europe experienced intensely warm conditions, particularly in the Mediterranean region and Eastern Europe, the summer months led to drier than average conditions attributed to potential droughts in those areas.
However, the rise in temperatures wasn't limited to Europe—regions such as Mexico, Canada, North Africa, China, Japan, and Australia also saw above-average temperatures. The East Antarctic region and even the U.S. state of Texas were affected as well.
In a troubling trend regarding the environment, Copernicus reported that Arctic sea ice extent was down 17% compared to the August average, marking the fourth lowest figure recorded in the satellite data available for analysis. Additionally, Antarctic ice levels reflected similarly alarming trends, arriving at 7% below the long-term average for August, denoting the second lowest figure recorded in the dataset.
As these temperature anomalies persist and escalate, the implications for global climate patterns, ecosystems, and human populations demand urgent attention and action from governments, industries, and communities worldwide.
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