2024 Will Be Hottest Year On Record, Again: European Climate Agency

Chicago: For second year in a row, Earth will almost certainly be hottest it's ever been. And for first time, globe this year reached more than 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming compared to pre-industrial aver, European climate ncy Copernicus said Thursday.

“It's this relentless nature of warming that I think is worrying,” said Carlo Buontempo, director of Copernicus.

Buontempo said data clearly shows planet would t see such a long sequence of record-breaking temperatures without constant increase of greenhouse gases in atmosphere driving global warming.

He cited or factors that contribute to exceptionally warm years like last year and this one. y include El Ni — temporary warming of parts of Pacific that changes wear worldwide — as well as volcanic eruptions that spew water vapour into air and variations in energy from sun. But he and or scientists say long-term increase in temperatures beyond fluctuations like El Ni is a b sign.

“A very strong El Ni event is a sneak peek into what new rmal will be about a dece from w,” said Zeke Hausfar, a research scientist with nprofit Berkeley Earth.

News of a likely second year of record heat comes a day after US Republican Donald Trump , who has called climate change a “hoax” and promised to boost oil drilling and production, was reelected to presidency.

It also comes days before next UN climate conference, called COP29, is set to begin in Azerbaijan. Talks are expected to focus on how to generate trillions of dollars to help world transition to clean energies like wind and solar and avoid more warming.

Also on Thursday, a report released by United Nations Environment Programme called for increased funds to apt to global heating and its consequences. It found that USD 28 billion spent worldwide to apt to climate change in 2022 — latest year data is available — is an all time high.

But it's still far short of estimated USD 187 to USD 359 billion needed every year to deal with heat, floods, droughts and storms exacerbated by climate change.

“Earth's ablaze,” said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a pre-recorded statement marking report's release. “Humanity's torching planet and paying price” with vulnerable most affected, he said.

“Frankly, re is excuse for world t to get serious about aptation," said UNEP's director Inger Andersen. “We need well-financed and effective aptation that incorporates fairness and equity.” Buontempo pointed out that going over 1.5 degree Celsius threshold of warming for a single year is different than goal opted in 2015 Paris Agreement. That goal was meant to try to cap warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius since pre-industrial times on aver, over 20 or 30 years.

A United Nations report this year said that since mid-1800s on aver, world has alrey heated up 1.3 degrees Celsius — up from previous estimates of 1.1 degrees or 1.2 degrees. That's of concern because UN says greenhouse gas emission reduction goals of world's nations still aren't nearly ambitious eugh to keep 1.5 degree Celsius target on track.

target was chosen to try to stave off worst effects of climate change on humanity, including extreme wear. “ heat waves, storm dam, and droughts that we are experiencing w are just tip of iceberg,” said Natalie Mahowald, chair of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Cornell University.

Going over that number in 2024 doesn't mean overall trend line of global warming has, but “in absence of concerted action, it soon will,” said University of Pennsylvania climate scientist Michael Mann.

Stanford University climate scientist Rob Jackson put it in starker terms. “I think we have missed 1.5 degree window,” said Jackson, who chairs Global Carbon Project, a group of scientists who track countries' carbon dioxide emissions. “re's too much warming.” Indiana state climatologist Beth Hall said she isn't surprised by latest report from Copernicus, but emphasised that people should remember climate is a global issue beyond ir local experiences with changing wear.

“We tend to be siloed in our own individual world,” she said. Reports like this one “are taking into account lots and lots of locations that aren't in our backyard.” Buontempo stressed importance of global observations, bolstered by international cooperation, that allow scientists to have confidence in new report's finding: Copernicus gets its results from billions of measurements from satellites, ships, aircraft and wear stations around world.

He said that going over 1.5 degree Celsius benchmark this year is “psychologically important” as nations make decisions internally and approach negotiations at annual UN climate change summit vember 11-22 in Azerbaijan.

“ decision, clearly, is ours. It's of each and every one of us. And it's decision of our society and our policymakers as a consequence of that,” he said. “But I believe se decisions are better me if y are based on evidence and facts.”