According to data published on Thursday by Copernicus, the month of July this year was about to break the record set in July 2023. This puts an end to a cycle of 13 consecutive monthly records.
July was the second hottest month of world history. According to data released Thursday by Copernicus, the European Earth observation program, the average air temperature was 16,91°C.
The margin with July 2023the hottest month on record, is very rare, since that year the thermometer rose to 16,95°C.
The global warming situation continues
However, another record was broken last month.
“We have seen the two hottest days in history. So July was also a record month in its own way, although the average for the month as a whole is slightly lower than that of July 2023,” explains Julien Nicolas, Copernicus climatologist. .
This data ends a cycle of 13 consecutive monthly records of global temperatures, which began in June of last year. But for Copernicus experts, the margin between the indications observed between 2023 and 2024 is so small that it does not question the global context of global warming.
“The consequences of global warming did not begin at the beginning of this series. We have been observing them for several years and the end of this series of records will not mark the end of the consequences of global warming either. Heat waves and extreme weather events began before this series of records and will continue afterward” warns Julien Nicolas.
The La Niña phenomenon could lower temperatures
For the climatologist, the high temperatures of recent months have an explanation. Julien Nicolas points out that this global increase coincides with the development of freak of El Niño In the pacific, which tends to warm the surface of the oceans and the planet.
However, the phenomenon of El Niño ended a few months ago and the Pacific is now in a neutral climate before the arrival of La Niñathe cold counterpart of El Niño, in the coming months.
“The fact that we are seeing slightly lower temperatures than those observed a year ago is part of this transition between warmer than average conditions in the equatorial Pacific linked to El Niño and colder than average conditions expected for the end of the year,” he points out. Julien Nicolas.
The arrival ofThe girlIt will put a brake on global average temperatures. However, models and forecasts differ regarding the intensity of the phenomenon that is about to occur.
The risk of an increase of 1.5ºC
This record cycle marks a turning point, as the global average temperature has reached or flirted with and increase of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levelsthe limit set by the Paris climate agreement. This is the limit that must not be exceeded.”to avoid the most catastrophic consequences of global warming“he points out Nicolas.
According to the climatologist, it remains to be seen whether the records observed in recent months “correspond to a turning point or a radical change in the climate system.” But Julien Nicolas notes that “we will have to wait a few years to really confirm it.”
Additional sources • Enrique Barrueco (Voice-over)
