This report is extremely worrying
In a new report, the European Union’s space programme has revealed that it is ‘virtually certain’ that 2024 will be the hottest year on record.
The report found that 2024 is likely to be the first year which will be more than 1.5C hotter than the period before the Industrial Revolution. The report identified that global temperatures for the past 12 months were 1.62C greater than the 1850-1900 average.
Keeping global heating below 1.5C is seen as a key objective to prevent catastrophic climate breakdown. Previous climate agreements have seen countries commit to keep the planet from heating beyond 1.5C by the end of the century.
The report also found that October 2024 was the second hottest October on record, only behind October 2023. Temperatures were 1.65C higher than pre-industrial levels in October, which was the 15th month out of the last 16 which was above the 1.5C threshold.
A single year or month being above 1.5C does not mean that the global targets have not been met, as temperature increases are assessed over decades. Still, continued record breaking temperatures indicate the scale of the challenge to avert catastrophic climate breakdown. They also increase the likelihood of extreme weather events which can lead to significant loss of life, damage to food systems and major economic disruption.
Samantha Burgess, deputy director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service said: “This marks a new milestone in global temperature records and should serve as a catalyst to raise ambition for the upcoming climate change conference”.
Chris Jarvis is head of strategy and development at Left Foot Forward
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