Last month recorded as the "hottest January" on record
According to measurements taken by the European Union's (EU) Copernicus satellite monitoring system, last month was reported as the "hottest January" ever recorded.
AA
In a statement from Copernicus, it was stated that the average surface air temperature last month was measured at 13.14 degrees Celsius. This measurement was noted to be 0.70 degrees above the 1991-2020 average for January and 0.12 degrees higher than the previous hottest January recorded in 2020.
The statement indicated that this marks the eighth consecutive month of record-breaking temperatures, and reported that the global average temperature over the last 12 months (February 2023 - January 2024) was measured at 0.64 degrees Celsius above the 1991-2020 average.
REGIONAL DIFFERENCES
Temperatures in Europe last month varied between the northern and southern regions. While temperatures in Scandinavian countries were well below the 1991-2020 average, they were measured well above this average in southern countries.
The report highlighted that these findings underscore the ongoing trend of global warming.
Temperatures, in Eastern Canada, Northwest Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia remained well above average, while in most of Western Canada, Central America, and Eastern Siberia, they were recorded below average.
In the statement, Copernicus Deputy Director of the Climate Change Service, Samantha Burgess, warned that "a rapid reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is the only way to stop the rise in global temperatures."