WASHINGTON (AP) — For the 10th month in a row, Earth set a new monthly global temperature record in March — with global air and ocean temperatures reaching their highest levels on record during the month, the European Union climate agency Copernicus said.
Average temperatures in March 2024 were 14.14 degrees Celsius (57.9 degrees Fahrenheit), exceeding the previous record set in 2016 by a tenth of a degree, according to Copernicus data. The temperature was 1.68 degrees Celsius (3 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than in the late 19th century, the norm used for temperatures before the burning of fossil fuels began to grow rapidly.
Since last June, The world has broken heat records every monthWith the contribution of marine heat waves across large areas of the Earth's oceans.
Scientists say the record-breaking heat during this time was not entirely surprising due to the strength of the weather El NinoIt is a climate condition that causes the temperature of the central Pacific Ocean to rise and changes global weather patterns.
“But the combination of abnormal marine heatwaves makes these records even more astonishing,” said Jennifer Francis, a scientist at the Woodwell Center for Climate Research.
As El Niño declines, the margins by which average global temperatures are exceeded each month should decrease, Francis said.
Climatologists attribute most of the record heat to Human-caused climate change of carbon dioxide and methane emissions they produce Burning coal, oil and natural gas.
“The trajectory will not change until concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere stop rising, which means we must stop burning fossil fuels, halt deforestation, and grow our food more sustainably as quickly as possible,” Francis said.
Until then, expect more broken records, she said.
Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, the world set a goal of keeping temperature rise at or below 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times. The Copernicus temperature data is monthly and uses a slightly different measurement system than the Paris Threshold, which is averaged over two or three decades.
Samantha Burgess, deputy director of Copernicus, said March's record temperature was not as exceptional as some other months last year that broke records by wider margins.
“We've had record-breaking months that have been even more bizarre,” Burgess said. February 2024 And September 2023. “The path is not in the right direction,” she added.
The world has now seen 12 months with average monthly temperatures 1.58 degrees Celsius (2.8 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than the Paris threshold, according to Copernicus data.
In March, the average global sea surface temperature was 21.07 °C (69.93 °F), the highest monthly value on record and slightly higher than what was recorded in February.
“We need more ambitious global action to ensure we can get to net zero as soon as possible,” Burgess said.
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