Red alert: The world experienced its hottest March
According to measurements taken by the European Union's (EU) Copernicus satellite monitoring system, last month was reported to be the 'hottest March' ever recorded globally.
AA
The average surface air temperature for last month was measured at 14.14 degrees. In its statement, Copernicus reported that this measurement was 0.73 degrees above the 1991-2020 average for March and 0.10 degrees higher than the previous hottest March recorded in 2020.
The statement also noted that the last 10 months have been the hottest months on record consecutively, and that the global average temperature over the last 12 months (April 2023 - March 2024) was measured at 0.70 degrees Celsius above the 1991-2020 average.
THE SITUATION IN EUROPE
According to Copernicus, the average temperature in Europe in March 2024 was measured at 2.12 degrees above the 1991-2020 March average. This made it the 'second hottest March' recorded on the continent.
Temperatures were most significantly above average in the central and eastern regions.
Outside of Europe, temperatures were recorded above average in eastern North America, Greenland, eastern Russia, Central America, parts of South America, many regions of Africa, southern Australia, and parts of Antarctica.
Deputy Director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service Samantha Burgess warned, "Stopping the warming requires rapid reductions in greenhouse gas emissions."