Earth records 12 consecutive months of record-breaking heat
Data from the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service reveals that each month from June 2023 to May 2024 was the hottest ever recorded for those respective months globally.
UN Alarmed: Earth’s Record Heat
In a warning regarding the escalating climate crisis, the United Nations has highlighted a “shocking” new milestone: Earth has experienced an unprecedented 12 consecutive months of record-breaking heat.
Data from the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service reveals that each month from June 2023 to May 2024 was the hottest ever recorded for those respective months globally. The average global temperature during this period was alarmingly 1.63°C (2.9°F) above pre-industrial levels. Addressing these concerning findings, UN Secretary-General António Guterres emphasised the necessity of immediate action to reverse the current trend and stabilise the climate system. “We need an exit ramp off the highway to climate hell,” Guterres declared during a speech marking World Environment Day. “The battle for 1.5 degrees will be won or lost in the 2020s.”
The UN’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO) now estimates an 80% chance that at least one of the next five years will temporarily exceed the critical 1.5°C warming threshold. Scientists warn that surpassing this threshold could lead to increasingly severe and irreversible impacts.
Guterres placed much of the blame on the fossil fuel industry, accusing its leaders of prioritising profits while misleading the public about climate change. “The fossil fuel industry rakes in record profits and feasts off trillions in taxpayer-funded subsidies,” he said, urging a 30% reduction in global fossil fuel production and use by 2030.
In a bold move, the UN chief called on every country to ban advertising from fossil fuel companies, similar to the restrictions placed on tobacco advertising due to its harmful effects. Despite global agreements and the rapid growth of renewable energy, carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels reached a record high last year. According to the WMO’s Ko Barrett, the latest climate data shows that the world is “way off track” from the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting warming to 1.5°C.
“We must urgently do more to cut greenhouse gas emissions, or we will pay an increasingly heavy price in terms of trillions of dollars in economic costs, millions of lives affected by more extreme weather, and extensive damage to the environment and biodiversity,” Barrett warned.
The data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service is particularly alarming. This unprecedented 12-month streak of high temperatures is a clear indicator of the increase in climate crisis. The average global temperature being 1.63°C above pre-industrial levels during this period significantly raises the stakes for immediate and effective climate action.
