Globally, last month was the warmest February on record. This marks the ninth consecutive month that was the warmest on record, the EU's climate service Copernicus stated.
For each of the past nine months, global temperatures have set a new historic average. Last month was no different: it was the warmest February ever recorded with an average air temperature of 13.54°C. This was about 1.77°C hotter than the pre-industrial era (1850-1900), Copernicus noted on Thursday.
"February joins the long streak of records of the last few months," Carlo Buontempo, Director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), said. "As remarkable as this might appear, it is not surprising given the continuous warming of the climate system."
The climate responds to the actual concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. "Unless we manage to stabilise those, we will inevitably face new global temperature records and their consequences."
The record-breaking trend is also driven by the natural El Niño climate phenomenon, synonymous with warmer temperatures. This reached its peak in December but is still expected to bring above-normal temperatures until May 2024. La Niña, which lowers global temperatures, is expected to develop "later this year" after neutral conditions between April and June.
A February for the record books
February 2024 was also 0.12°C warmer than the previous record, which was February 2016. The daily global average temperature was exceptionally high during the first half of the month. From 8 to 11 February, temperatures were even 2°C higher than in the pre-industrial era.
"This does not mean, however, that the upper limit of the Paris Agreement, averaged over several decades, has been reached," Buontempo noted. For the Paris Agreement threshold to be considered surpassed, this level must be reached on average over several years.
Over the last 12 months, the world has experienced a temperature of 1.56°C higher than the average climate of the 19th century, a new record. The meteorological winter in the northern hemisphere (December to February) was also the warmest in the world, following on from the warmest autumn and summer months.
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While remarkably hot weather was recorded around the world, from North America to Vietnam, including Morocco and most of South America, Europe stood out. Temperatures 3.30°C above normal (1991-2020) were observed, and the situation was even more abnormal in Central and Eastern Europe.
The average temperature of the oceans, which cover 70% of the Earth, also reached a new record for all months combined, with 21.06°C recorded in February at the surface of the seas (excluding areas near the poles). This warming poses a direct threat to marine life and may reduce the capacity of the seas to absorb greenhouse gas emissions.
