New heat records have been reached again this year. According to a report from the European Copernicus Observatory, published on Friday, September 6, the summer of 2024 saw the highest temperatures ever recorded. Several countries around the globe are affected and extreme events continue to multiply.
Heatwaves, droughts and floods… As in recent years, the summer of 2024 has also been affected by a series of extreme weather events, caused by record temperatures. According to the European Copernicus programme, the average global temperature in August reached 16.82°C, or 1.51°C of warming compared to the pre-industrial era. The threshold of +1.5°C set by the agreement Paris in 2015 is therefore exceeded, as for the month of July, as for the month of June before it, as in reality thirteen of the last fourteen months.
« Over the past three months, the planet has experienced the hottest June and August, the hottest day and the hottest Northern Hemisphere summer. “, warned Samantha Burgess, deputy head of Copernicus’ Climate Change Service (C3S), in her monthly newsletter. This series of records increases the probability that 2024 will be the hottest year on record. “, also before 2023, she added.
Cascading consequences
- RFI