This year is on track to become the hottest year on record, with global temperatures expected to exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius above the benchmark set by the Paris Agreement.
According to a monthly climate bulletin, this will be the first time since the agreement was established that the world has reached this benchmark.
November of this year was the second warmest November globally, with temperatures 0.73 degrees Celsius above the 1991 through 2020 average, revealed a monthly climate bulletin by the Copernicus Climate Change Service.
The Paris Agreement is a legally binding treaty that sets “the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels” and “to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels,” according to the United Nations.
Despite the benchmark, Copernicus personnel said the agreement, which was adopted by 196 countries to limit global warming, has not been breached.
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“With Copernicus data in from the penultimate month of the year, we can now confirm with virtual certainty that 2024 will be the warmest year on record and the first calendar year above 1.5°C,” said Samantha Burgess, deputy director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service. “This does not mean that the Paris Agreement has been breached, but it does mean ambitious climate action is more urgent than ever.”
Weather wreaks havoc across the world
In the United States, a heat dome engulfed much of the western region well into July 4th weekend, threatening millions of Americans with triple-digit temperatures.
Another concerning issue that points to climate change is the volume of Antarctic sea ice, which shrunk to a record low for November, said the bulletin.
Arctic ice, which decreased by 9 percent, hit its third-lowest extent for November.
Parts of Europe experienced below-average rain, while the United States, specifically Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee saw heavy rainfall and flooding.
The Copernicus bulletin shows the ongoing trend of rising global temperatures and changing weather patterns due to climate change.
Earlier in January, experts correctly forecasted that extreme, stormy weathers such as flooding and hurricanes would negatively affect the supply chain.
