Last month marked the warmest February on record worldwide, extending a streak of record-breaking temperatures for nine consecutive months, according to scientists.
Data from the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service reveals that global sea surface temperatures have also reached unprecedented levels.
February’s temperatures surpassed historical averages significantly.
According to Copernicus, February was 1.77°C warmer than the pre-industrial average for the month and 0.81°C above the levels recorded from 1991 to 2020.
Over the past 12 months, from March 2023 to February 2024, the global average temperature reached a record high of 1.56°C above pre-industrial levels.
This puts the world temporarily above the critical 1.5°C threshold, beyond which the most severe impacts of climate change are expected to occur.
During the first half of February, daily global average temperatures soared to exceptionally high levels, peaking at 2°C above 1850-1900 levels on four days from February 8 to 11.
In Europe, temperatures in February 2024 were notably elevated, averaging 3.3°C above the 1991-2020 average for the month.
Central and Eastern Europe experienced temperatures well above the norm.
The winter season spanning from December to February was the second warmest on record for Europe.
Global sea surface temperatures outside the polar regions reached unprecedented levels for any month on record in February, averaging 21.06°C.
This exceeded the previous record set in August 2023.
Carlo Buontempo, director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, commented on the trend, stating,
“February joins the long streak of records of the last few months.
As remarkable as this might appear, it is not really surprising as the continuous warming of the climate system inevitably leads to new temperature extremes.”
Dr. Friederike Otto, a senior lecturer in climate science at Imperial College London, emphasized the overwhelming evidence of climate change.
She stated, “There’s now so much evidence pointing to the fact that our climate is warming, if you want to deny climate change, you might as well claim the Earth is flat, too.”
She continued, highlighting the need for urgent action: “People should not be surprised that we have broken another record.
Humans continue to burn oil, gas, and coal, so the climate continues to warm.
It is a very well understood relationship.
There is no silver bullet or magic fix for climate change.
We know what to do: stop burning fossil fuels and replace them with more sustainable, renewable sources of energy.
Until we do that, extreme weather events intensified by climate change will continue to destroy lives and livelihoods.”
