Climate Crisis

Warmest February to date was recorded last month, EU service reports

Human-caused climate change by far the main driver of the warmth, according to European Union climate service Copernicus

A stunning pink Camellia which has come into bloom at RHS Garden Wisley in Surrey. Trees and shrubs are 'laden' with blossom this spring because of weather conditions over the past year, said the Royal Horticultural Society. Photograph: PA
A stunning pink Camellia which has come into bloom at RHS Garden Wisley in Surrey. Trees and shrubs are 'laden' with blossom this spring because of weather conditions over the past year, said the Royal Horticultural Society. Photograph: PA
Kevin O'Sullivan Environment and Science Editor
Thu Mar 07 2024 - 17:24

The world has experienced the warmest February to date, according to European Union climate service Copernicus, as greenhouse gas levels in the Earth’s atmosphere are at levels not experienced in two million years.

Each month since June 2023 has been marked by new temperature highs for the time of year, while the world’s sea surface is at its hottest on record and Antarctic sea ice has again reached extreme lows.

Temperatures are still being boosted by the natural pattern arising from the Pacific Ocean, known as an El Niño weather event, but human-caused climate change is by far the main driver of the warmth, Copernicus said on Thursday.

In a report earlier this week the UN climate body, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), said the 2023-24 El Niño had peaked as one of the five strongest on record but would continue to affect the global climate in the coming months.

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WMO secretary general Prof Celeste Saulo said El Niño had contributed to the record temperatures experienced since June 2023, but “heat-trapping greenhouse gases are unequivocally the main culprit”.

Many countries just experienced the hottest ever June with warnings of more frequent and extreme weather events to come. (Reuters)

Carbon dioxide concentrations are at their highest level for at least two million years, according to the WMO and increased by near-record levels again over the past year.

Those warming gases helped make February 2024 about 1.77 degrees warmer than “pre-industrial” times — before humans started burning large amounts of fossil fuels — breaking the previous record, from 2016, by about 0.12 degrees.

Climate scientist Friederike Otto of Imperial College London said: “There’s now so much evidence pointing to the fact that our climate is warming, if you want to deny climate change, you might as well claim the Earth is flat too. Billions of measurements from weather stations, satellites, ships and planes point to the very basic fact that our planet is heating up at a dangerous pace.

“People should not be surprised that we have broken another record. Humans continue to burn oil, gas, and coal, so the climate continues to warm. It is a very well-understood relationship. People who think we can keep warming to 1.5 degrees and continue to open new gas and oilfields might as well claim the Earth is flat and believe in Bigfoot.”

West Africa had endured a month of extreme temperatures in February, affecting tens of millions of people, said Dr Otto. A study detailing how climate change increased the intensity and likelihood of that heat is due to be published by World Weather Attribution, a research body of which Dr Otto is a co-founder.

In its report this week, the WMO said above-normal temperatures are predicted over almost all land areas between March and May.

Kevin O'Sullivan

Kevin O'Sullivan

Kevin O'Sullivan is Environment and Science Editor and former editor of The Irish Times