Global Temperature Reaches All-Time High in March
In a record-breaking month of March, experts are sounding the alarm about an irreversible trend. On April 9th, scientists confirmed that March was the hottest month on record, with an unprecedented heatwave sweeping across the globe. This situation has sparked urgent calls to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as they are the main cause of global warming.
According to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), March marked the tenth consecutive month of above-average temperatures compared to previous years. This trend has persisted since June of last year.
C3S also revealed that March was 1.68°C warmer than the average March temperatures recorded from 1850 to 1900, during the pre-industrial era. This year’s March was 0.1°C hotter than the previous record set in March 2016.
Samantha Burgess, Deputy Director of C3S, stated, “March 2024 continues to break records for both air temperatures and sea surface temperatures.”
Burgess further added that the global average temperature is currently the highest in recorded history, with the last 12 months being 1.58°C warmer than the pre-industrial period. The warming trend is believed to be irreversible, making it crucial to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The high temperatures are likely a result of the climate crisis, primarily caused by the burning of fossil fuels.
Climate researcher Chloe Brimicombe, from the University of Graz in Austria, attributed the global temperature record to human-induced climate change. The world is witnessing extreme heatwaves, storms, and floods in the southern hemisphere. Global cocoa prices have surged due to the impact of hot and rainy weather on harvests. Below-average snowfall in Europe and predicted disappearance of glaciers by the end of this century are further evidence of climate change.
The latest monthly climate information from C3S was released shortly after the United Nations weather agency issued a “red alert” for the world. This agency reported that numerous climate records were broken last year, surpassing historical benchmarks.
In the World Meteorological Organization’s annual report, “State of the Global Climate,” researchers confirmed that 2023 was the hottest year on record. The period from 2014 to 2023 was also the hottest decade ever recorded.
Scientists at the WMO stated that the global average temperature in 2023 was 1.45°C higher than the pre-industrial period, slightly below the 1.5°C threshold considered a warning sign for the harmful impact of climate change on humanity and the planet.