GG
12. 1. 2025, 14.39
Updated: January 12, 2025, 3:18 p.m
It’s no longer a surprise that it’s getting warmer every year. Last year, however, the average global air temperature exceeded pre-industrial levels by more than 1.5 degrees Celsius for the first time.
The average global air temperature last year was 15.10 degrees Celsius, according to the EU’s Copernicus climate change monitoring service, which is 1.6 degrees above the estimated pre-industrial temperature between 1850 and 1900. This makes 2024 the first calendar year in which the average global temperature exceeded pre-industrial levels by more than 1.5 degrees Celsius.
The 2015 Paris Climate Agreement has not yet been violated. In this agreement, all countries around the world committed to limit the rise in temperature below two degrees Celsius. But global temperatures are rising at levels not yet experienced by modern man. Last year was once again the warmest in the history of measurements, the beginning of which dates back to the middle of the 19th century. The temperature exceeded the previous record set in 2023 by 0.12 degrees Celsius, and by 0.72 degrees the average temperature during the period 1991-2020.
Points of interest
Responsible for the future with investment insurance
2024 was the warmest year in almost all continental regions, including Europe. On the European continent, the average temperature was 10.69 degrees Celsius. This is 0.28 degrees above the previous record set in 2020 and 1.47 above the 1991-2020 average temperature. Last year, Europe, which is warming twice as fast as the global average, also had the warmest spring and summer in the history of measurements.
The EU’s goal remains climate neutrality in 2050, and the commission will propose a 90% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 compared to 1990.
“The main reason for these record temperatures is the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which is mainly the result of the use of fossil fuels,” she said Samantha Burgess from Copernicus. She compared an increase in global temperature by 1.5 degrees Celsius to an increase in human body temperature. This is usually around 37 degrees Celsius, and the body reacts very convulsively when the temperature rises to 39 degrees. It’s the same with a 1.5 degree increase in global air temperature, which doesn’t seem like much, but could increase the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events like wildfires, heat waves, severe storms and floods, according to Burgess.
According to the director of Copernicuas Carla Buontempa these weather phenomena are already on the rise. “Our traditional systems for dealing with extreme events are operating at the limit of capacity. Adaptation is therefore no longer a choice, but a necessity,” pointed out Buontempa, adding that as a society we can take advantage of the available data and develop services and early warning systems that can protect us. It is necessary to adapt to climate change and at the same time reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Profimedia
Last year was once again the warmest in the history of measurements, the beginning of which dates back to the middle of the 19th century.
Source: svet24.si
