2024 On Track To Be World's Hottest Year On Record: EU Scientists

New Delhi: year 2024 is on track to become warmest ever recorded, according to European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), which issued statement on Thursday.

C3S declared that 2024 is ‘virtually certain’ to surpass 2023 as hottest year since records began. This anuncement comes just days ahe of U.N. COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan, where nations will negotiate major funding increases to combat climate change. However, outcome of se talks could be affected by Donald Trump 's recent victory in U.S. presidential election.

Data from C3S reveals that aver global temperature from January to October was alrey so high that only a dramatic temperature decline in year's final months could prevent 2024 from setting a new record. “ fundamental, underpinning cause of this year’s record is climate change,” said Carlo Buontempo, director of C3S, in an interview with Reuters. “ climate is warming globally—in all continents and ocean basins—which inevitably les to record-breaking temperatures,” he ded.

year 2024 will also likely be first in which global temperatures exceed 1.5°C above pre-industrial aver of 1850-1900, a period marking beginning of large-scale fossil fuel consumption. Carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels remain primary driver of this warming.

Sonia Seneviratne, a climate scientist from ETH Zurich, expressed concern but t surprise at new milestone. She emphasized need for stronger climate action at COP29 to accelerate transition away from CO2-emitting energy sources. “ targets set in Paris Agreement are crumbling due to inequate pace of climate measures worldwide,” she warned.

2015 Paris Agreement aimed to prevent global temperatures from rising more than 1.5°C (2.7°F) to mitigate severe climate impacts. While world has t yet breached this aver temperature limit—defined over deces—C3S anticipates that it will be exceeded by around 2030. “It's basically around corner w,” Buontempo ted.

Even slight temperature increases exacerbate extreme wear events. In October, catastrophic flash floods in Spain claimed hundreds of lives, record-breaking wildfires devastated Peru, and severe flooding in Banglesh destroyed over a million tons of rice, causing food prices to soar. Meanwhile, in United States, Hurricane Milton intensified due to human-induced climate change.

C3S, which has temperature records dating back to 1940, corroborates its findings with global datasets stretching back to 1850.

With inputs from Reuters…