Last month, February 2024, was the world’s warmest February in modern times, the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) says, extending the run of monthly records to nine in a row.
February 2024 was the hottest February on record for the world, which makes it the ninth month in a row to be the hottest on record, the C3S announced Tuesday.
For the ninth straight month, Earth has obliterated global heat records — with February, the winter as a whole and the world’s oceans setting new high-temperature marks, according to the C3S.
GLOBAL HOT STREAK CONTINUES
An AP report said:
‘The latest record-breaking in this climate change-fueled global hot streak includes sea surface temperatures that weren’t just the hottest for February, but eclipsed any month on record, soaring past August 2023’s mark and still rising at the end of the month. And February, as well the previous two winter months, soared well past the internationally set threshold for long-term warming, the C3S reported Wednesday.
‘The last month that did not set a record for hottest month was in May 2023 and that was a close third to 2020 and 2016. C3S records have fallen regularly from June on.
‘February 2024 averaged 13.54 degrees Celsius (56.37 degrees Fahrenheit), breaking the old record from 2016 by about an eighth of a degree. February was 1.77 degrees Celsius (3.19 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the late 19th century, the C3S calculated. Only last December was more above pre-industrial levels for the month than February was.
‘In the 2015 Paris Agreement, the world set a goal of trying to keep warming at or below 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit). C3S’ figures are monthly and not quite the same measurement system for the Paris threshold, which is averaged over two or three decades. ‘But Copernicus data shows the last eight months, from July 2023 on, have exceeded 1.5 degrees of warming.’
The report said:
‘Climate scientists say most of the record heat is from human-caused climate change of carbon dioxide and methane emissions from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas. Additional heat comes from a natural El Nino, a warming of the central Pacific that changes global weather patterns.
‘“Given the strong El Nino since mid-2023, it’s not surprising to see above-normal global temperatures, as El Ninos pump heat from the ocean into the atmosphere, driving up air temperatures. But the amount by which records have been smashed is alarming,” said Woodwell Climate Research Center climate scientist Jennifer Francis, who wasn’t part of the calculations.
‘“And we also see the ongoing ‘hot spot’ over the Arctic, where rates of warming are much faster than the globe as a whole, triggering a cascade of impacts on fisheries, ecosystems, ice melt, and altered ocean current pattern s that have long-lasting and far-reaching effects,” Francis added.
‘Record high ocean temperatures outside the Pacific, where El Nino is focused, show this is more than the natural effect, said Francesca Guglielmo, a Copernicus senior climate scientist.
‘The North Atlantic sea surface temperature has been at record level — compared to the specific date — every day for a solid year since March 5, 2023, “often by seemingly-impossible margins,” according to University of Miami tropical scientist Brian McNoldy.
‘Those other ocean areas “are a symptom of greenhouse-gas trapped heat accumulating over decades,” Francis said in an email. “That heat is now emerging and pushing air temperatures into uncharted territory.”
‘“These anomalously high temperatures are very worrisome,” said Cornell University climate scientist Natalie Mahowald. “To avoid even higher temperatures, we need to act quickly to reduce CO2 emissions.”
‘This was the warmest winter — December, January and February — by nearly a quarter of a degree, beating 2016, which was also an El Nino year. The three-month period was the most any season has been above pre-industrial levels in Copernicus record keeping, which goes back to 1940.
‘Francis said on a 1-to-10 scale of how bad the situation is, she gives what is happening now “a 10, but soon we will need a new scale because what’s a 10 today will be a five in the future unless society can stop the buildup of heat-trapping gases.”’
OCEAN TEMPERATURE HIT RECORD HIGH IN FEBRUARY
A Reuters report adds:
‘Ocean temperatures hit a record high in February, with the average global sea surface temperature at 21.06 degrees Celsius (69.91 degrees Fahrenheit), the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said on Thursday.
‘February’s average sea surface temperature surpassed the previous record of 20.98 C (69.77 F) set in August 2023, in a dataset that goes back to 1979.
‘The concerning marine record arrived during what was also the hottest February on record, marking the ninth consecutive month with such a milestone for the respective month.
‘Marine scientists warned this week that a fourth global mass coral bleaching event is likely unfolding in the Southern Hemisphere, driven by warming waters, and could be the worst in the planet’s history.
‘Corals bleach under heat stress, expelling the colourful, helpful algae that live in their tissues, leaving behind a pale skeleton. This makes them vulnerable to starvation and disease, and many die. This can lead to the collapse of fragile reef ecosystems, with coastlines left unprotected from erosion and storms and fisheries falling short.
‘An El Nino climate pattern, borne out of warmer than usual surface waters in the Eastern Pacific, alongside human-caused climate change is fueling the extra heat.
‘”What is more surprising is that sea surface temperatures are at record levels over regions far away from the centre of the El Nino action, such as the tropical Atlantic and Indian Ocean,” said climate scientist Richard Allan of the University of Reading.
‘This, he said, pointed to the strong influence of rising greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere.
‘While the global average sea surface temperature record excludes the polar oceans, things are in bad shape there, too.’
It said:
‘El Nino is now weakening in the equatorial Pacific, C3S said, but air temperatures over the oceans remain at an unusually high level.’
EARTH SETS HEAT RECORDS FOR 9 STRAIGHT MONTHS
A Fox News report said:
‘With a global average surface air temperature of 56.37 degrees Fahrenheit (13.54 degrees Celsius), February was 0.21 degrees F warmer than the previous record of February 2016.
‘”The daily global average temperature was exceptionally high during the first half of the month, reaching 2°C (3.6 degrees F) above the 1850–1900 levels on four consecutive days (8–11 February),” the service said in a statement.
‘For those keeping score, February 2024 was 1.45 degrees F warmer than all Februaries averaged together between 1991 and 2020. The month was also 3.18 degrees F (1.77 degrees C) warmer than the estimate for the designated pre-industrial reference period between 1850 and 1900.
‘”February joins the long streak of records of the last few months. As remarkable as this might appear, it is not really surprising, as the continuous warming of the climate system inevitably leads to new temperature extremes,” said Copernicus Director Carlos Buontempo in a statement. “The climate responds to the actual concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, so unless we manage to stabilize those, we will inevitably face new global temperature records and their consequences.”
‘The past 12 months have been the hottest on record. March 2023 to February 2024 was 1.22 degrees F warmer than the 1991-2020 average and 2.80 degrees F above the pre-industrial average. This follows from the warmest year on record – 2023.
‘Meteorological winter, December through February, also hit the record books as the warmest on record. The average temperature was 1.40 degrees F warmer than the 1991-2000 average.
‘This year not only marked the warmest February on record for sea surface temperatures, but it was also the warmest month ever for sea surface temperatures. At 69.90 degrees F, this February beat out the prior record month, August 2023, by 0.14 degrees F.
‘At the end of the month, Copernicus found a new absolute daily high of sea surface temperature of 69.96 degrees F.
‘Arctic sea ice extent was 2% below average, far from the minimum ice extent measured in February 2018 of 6% below average.
‘Antarctic sea ice came in at the third lowest in history – 28% below average. Copernicus points out that the number isn’t far from the all-time minimum of 33% below average from February 2023.
‘So far, it is too early to calculate if the current 1.77 degrees C (3.18 degrees F) change from pre-industrial levels exceeds the Paris Agreement benchmark of 1.5 degrees C (2.7 degrees F).
‘According to the U.N.’s recent climate assessment report, a 20-year average of the global mean temperature must exceed 1.5 degrees C (2.7 degrees F) for the Paris Agreement to be broken.
‘”A single year of exceedance above 1.5°C does not mean we have breached the iconic threshold of the Paris Agreement, but it does reveal that we are edging ever closer to a situation where 1.5°C could be exceeded for an extended period,” said Leon Hermanson, Ph.D., of the United Kingdom Met Office.’
MORE CLIMATE RECORDS FALL IN WORLD’S WARMEST FEBRUARY
A BBC report said:
‘Each month since June 2023 has seen new temperature highs for the time of year.
‘The world’s sea surface is at its hottest on record, while Antarctic sea-ice has again reached extreme lows.
‘Temperatures are still being boosted by the Pacific’s El Niño weather event, but human-caused climate change is by far the main driver of the warmth.’
The report said:
‘Carbon dioxide concentrations are at their highest level for at least two million years, according to the UN’s climate body, and increased by near-record levels again over the past year.
‘Those warming gases helped make February 2024 about 1.77C warmer than “pre-industrial” times – before humans started burning large amounts of fossil fuels – according to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.
‘This breaks the previous record, from 2016, by around 0.12C.
‘These temperatures saw particularly severe heat afflict western Australia, southeast Asia, southern Africa and South America.
‘The 12-month average now sits at 1.56C above pre-industrial levels – after the first year-long breach of 1.5C warming was confirmed last month.’
OCEAN AND SEA-ICE UNDER STRAIN
The report said:
‘Recent records have not just been limited to air temperatures. Countless climate metrics are far beyond levels seen in modern times.
‘One of the most notable is sea surface temperatures. As the graph below shows, the margin of records in recent months has been particularly striking.
‘Researchers are keen to stress that the scale and extent of the oceanic heat is not simply a consequence of the natural weather event known as El Niño, which was declared in June 2023.’
It said:
‘Unusually warm waters may also have been a factor in another exceptional month for Antarctic sea-ice. The three lowest minimum extents in the satellite era have now occurred in the last three years.
‘Scientists are struggling to explain exactly what is going on.
‘Until 2017, Antarctic sea-ice had defied predictions that it would shrink, unlike in the Arctic, where the downward trend has been much clearer.
‘The apparent recent shift – occurring at the same time as other records are being broken around the planet – adds to concerns that Antarctic sea-ice may finally be waking up to climate change.
‘”I do not think you can say it’s coincidental,” Prof Martin Siegert, a glaciologist at the University of Exeter, told BBC News.
‘”It is absolutely frightening. The records are just off [the] scale.”’
AN END TO EL NINO IN SIGHT
The BBC report said:
‘There are signs that the run of global temperature records may finally come to an end in the months ahead.
The 2023-24 El Niño has been one of the five strongest such events on record, the World Meteorological Organization announced on Tuesday, but it is gradually weakening.
‘El Niño will continue to have an effect on temperatures and weather patterns for the next few months.
‘”We would expect [El Niño] to continue to keep 2024 temperatures elevated at least through the first half of the year,” Dr Colin Morice, a senior scientist at the UK’s Met Office Hadley Centre, told BBC News.
‘However, a switch to neutral conditions in the Pacific is likely between April and June, according to US science body NOAA, and a further switch to the cool phase known as La Niña could then happen between June and August.
‘This would likely put a temporary lid on global air temperatures, with a cooler sea surface in the East Pacific allowing less heat to escape and warm the air.
But as long as human activities keep releasing huge amounts of greenhouse gases, temperatures will continue rising in the long-term, ultimately leading to more records and extreme weather.
‘”We know what to do – stop burning fossil fuels and replace them with more sustainable, renewable sources of energy,” says Dr Friederike Otto, senior lecturer in climate science at Imperial College London.
‘”Until we do that, extreme weather events intensified by climate change will continue to destroy lives and livelihoods.”’
