BRUSSELS – The world is facing a climate crisis like never before, as the European Union’s climate change monitoring service reported that April 2024 was the hottest on record. This marks the 11th consecutive month of record-breaking temperatures, with each month since June 2023 ranking as the hottest on record.
The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) revealed that the world’s average temperature for the past 12 months was the highest on record, surpassing the pre-industrial period by 1.61 degrees Celsius. This alarming trend has raised concerns among scientists, who are now investigating whether human activity has triggered a tipping point in the climate system.
The impact of these extreme temperatures is already being felt, with climate change causing specific weather events such as a deadly heatwave in the Sahel region. Hayley Fowler, a climate scientist at Newcastle University, warned that the world is dangerously close to exceeding the 1.5-degree Celsius target set in the 2015 Paris Agreement.
While technically the 1.5-degree target has not been missed yet, some scientists believe it is no longer achievable and are urging governments to take immediate action to reduce CO2 emissions. The consequences of failing to meet this target could be catastrophic, leading to fatal heatwaves, flooding, and irreversible damage to ecosystems.
As the world grapples with the reality of a rapidly warming planet, the need for urgent and decisive action has never been more apparent. The time to address climate change is now, before it’s too late.