The Copernicus Climate Change Service forecasts 2024 to be the hottest year on record, surpassing 2023’s temperatures. This projection, made ahead of COP29, highlights unprecedented temperature levels attributed to climate change. The milestone of exceeding 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels underscores the urgent need for strengthened climate commitments and actions to address fossil fuel reliance and mitigate extreme weather impacts.
The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) of the European Union has recently projected that 2024 is poised to become the hottest year on record, eclipsing the high temperatures recorded in 2023. This forecast arrives just ahead of the COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan, where global leaders are expected to discuss a substantial increase in climate funding. Data from C3S highlights that from January to October, the planet has experienced unprecedented temperature levels, rendering a new heat record for 2024 almost certain unless there is a drastic reduction in temperatures during the remaining months of the year. Carlo Buontempo, the Director of C3S, has attributed this surge in temperatures to the impacts of climate change, with rising heat levels observed across every continent and ocean basin. This significant warming signals the first instance in which global temperatures will exceed 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels (1850-1900), marking a critical milestone since the onset of anthropogenic climate change. The primary drivers of this trend are emissions of carbon dioxide resulting from the combustion of coal, oil, and gas. Sonia Seneviratne, a climate scientist at ETH Zurich, underlined the importance of this milestone, calling for more robust commitments at COP29 to transition away from fossil fuels. She consistently stresses that the pace of climate action is currently inadequate to fulfill the Paris Agreement objective of limiting warming to 1.5°C, a target that, if present trends continue, is likely to be surpassed by 2030. Moreover, the escalation of global temperatures is exacerbating extreme weather events. Recent occurrences, such as the devastating flash floods in Spain, wildfires in Peru, and catastrophic flooding in Bangladesh that destroyed over a million tons of rice, exemplify the significant impact of rising temperatures on food security and public safety. In the United States, Hurricane Milton’s intensity was heightened by the effects of climate change. C3S’s latest data, augmented by historical temperature records dating back to 1850, reinforce the assertion that the exceptional temperatures of 2024 are indicative of a long-standing warming trend driven by human activities.
The projected increase in global temperatures stems from a variety of factors including human-induced carbon emissions and an ongoing reliance on fossil fuels. Climate scientists and organizations globally are sounding alarms regarding the accelerating pace of climate change and its dire implications for natural and human systems. The imminent COP29 conference serves as a critical platform for nations to negotiate solutions and actions aimed at mitigating these warming trends and their catastrophic impacts.
In conclusion, the EU’s C3S projections suggest that 2024 could witness record-breaking global temperatures due to human-driven climate change. The significant rise in temperatures presents a dire reminder for countries to ramp up their climate action commitments, particularly at the forthcoming COP29 summit. Immediate and decisive action is imperative to avoid surpassing critical climate thresholds that could inflict severe consequences on the planet’s ecosystems and humanity.
Original Source: maktoobmedia.com
