UNITED NATIONS, Jul 08 (APP): The global temperature in June was record hot for the 13th straight month that the world was 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than pre-industrial times, according to the European climate service Copernicus, which provides authentic information about climate in Europe and the rest of the World.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese latest figures from the Copernicus Climate Change Service unfortunately highlight that we will be exceeding the 1.5 degrees Celsius level on a temporary basis with increasing frequency, on a monthly basis,\u201d said the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.<\/p>\n
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The crucial 1.5\u00b0C threshold refers to the temperature rise above pre-industrial levels beginning in 1850.<\/p>\n
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\u201cHowever, it is important to stress that temporary breaches do not mean that the 1.5 degrees Celsius goal is permanently lost because this refers to long-term warming over at least two decades,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Efforts to limit the long-term global average surface temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of this century were officially endorsed under the Paris Agreement, put into effect in 2016.<\/p>\n
The scientific community has warned that warming of more than 1.5 degrees Celsius may lead to increasingly severe climate change impacts and severe weather events, emphasizing the significance of every fraction of a degree.<\/p>\n
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For example, every 0.1 degree Celsius increase causes \u201cclearly discernible increases in the intensity and frequency of temperature and precipitation extremes, as well as agricultural and ecological droughts in some regions,\u201d according to WMO, the UN weather agency.<\/p>\n
WMO has warned that even at today\u2019s levels of warming, the world faces devastating climate impacts. More extreme heatwaves, rainfall events and droughts, reductions in glaciers, and accelerating sea level rise are already ravaging the planet.<\/p>\n
Extreme heat also causes the greatest mortality rate of all extreme weather, with an estimated 489,000 heat-related deaths per year between 2000 and 2019, according to a 2023 WMO report.<\/p>\n
The record sea surface temperature is also the highest value on record for the month of June. These record-breaking temperatures are of \u201cgreat concern to vital marine ecosystems and they also provide energy to super-charge tropical cyclones \u2013 as we saw with Hurricane Beryl,\u201d said Ms. Saulo.<\/p>\n
Sea ice at the poles is also being impacted, with the Arctic three per cent below average while the Antarctic was 12 per cent below average for the month of June, according to satellite data.<\/p>\n
European temperatures also rose the most above average over southeast regions and Turkiye.<\/p>\n