January 2024 marks a worrying chapter in the global climate change timeline, having been identified as the warmest January on record, with an average surface air temperature of 13,14°C. This exceeds the January average for the reference period 0,70-1991 by 2020 °C and the previous record for 0,12 by 2020 °C. This finding, the result of analyzes by the Copernicus Climate Change service (C3S), underlines a disturbing trend towards accelerated global warming.
The fact that January 2024 is the eighth consecutive month to record record temperatures for the respective month of the year highlights an unbroken sequence of thermal anomalies that have no recent precedent. When compared to the pre-industrial reference period 1850-1900, January 2024 was 1,66°C warmer, demonstrating the acceleration of global warming underway.
This series of heat records, including the highest global average temperature for the last twelve months (February 2023 – January 2024) on record, highlights the urgency with which the international community must address climate change. This data, based on computer-generated analyzes that integrate billions of measurements from satellites, ships, aircraft and weather stations around the world, provides irrefutable evidence of anthropogenic impacts on our planet's climate.
The impact of these record temperatures goes far beyond just the numbers, affecting ecosystems, biodiversity, agriculture, water resources and human life itself. Events Extreme weather events, such as heat waves, wildfires, floods and hurricanes, are becoming more frequent and intense due to these climate changes, putting vulnerable communities at risk and threatening global food security.
