Outlook Web Desk
As climate change continues to pose a major threat to life on Earth, the Copernicus Climate Change Service has reported that the world has recorded the hottest May ever.
With May breaking the heat record, it has become the 12th consecutive month where the global-average temperature has reached a record value.
As per the EU weather watchdog C3S, the global average temperature for May 2024 was 0.65°C above the 1991–2020 average and 1.52°C above the 1850–1900 pre-industrial average, marking the 11th consecutive month (since July 2023) for which the global average temperature reached or exceeded 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
As per C3S data, the global average temperature for the last 12 months - June 2023 to May 2024 - is the highest on record. The temperature has been recorded at t 0.75°C above the 1991–2020 average and 1.63°C above the 1850–1900 pre-industrial average.
"It is shocking but not surprising that we have reached this 12-month streak. While this sequence of record-breaking months will eventually be interrupted, the overall signature of climate change remains and there is no sign in sight of a change in such a trend," stated Carlo Buontempo.
As per the World Meteorological Organisation, there is a 80 percent chance that over the next five years , it will be at least 1.5 degrees Celsius warmer than it was at the start of the industrial age.
The WMO added that there is an 86 percent chance that one of these years will set a new temperature which will beat 2023 as the warmest year ever. According to the report, the global mean near-surface temperature for each year between 2024 and 2028 is predicted to be between 1.1°C and 1.9°C higher than the 1850-1900 baseline.
Scientists have also stated that El Nino may add to the warming in 2024 as the periodic warming of the ocean surface has a great impact on in the second half of the year. Furthermore, La Nina conditions are also expected to strike by August-September.
Apart from insuring that the Paris Agreement limit does not cross, C3S and climate scientists have stated that countries need to work towards limiting the global average temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial period.