The recent years have marked significant milestones in the context of global warming, with 2023 being the warmest year recorded since global temperature data collection began in 1850. This alarming trend continued into 2024, witnessing the warmest January on record. The primary driver behind this unprecedented warming is human-induced global warming, further intensified by natural phenomena like El Niño.
Breakdown of Recent Temperature Records
2023 as the Warmest Year: The global average temperature reached 14.98°C, surpassing the pre-industrial average by 1.48°C, making it the warmest year on record.
Record-Breaking January 2024: January 2024 set a new record for the highest ever monthly global surface temperature, at 1.27°C above the 20th-century average.
Key Contributing Factors
1. Human-Induced Global Warming: The excessive emission of greenhouse gases from fossil fuels, agriculture, and other human activities is the primary cause of the recent warming trend.
2. El Niño: The temporary warming effect of El Niño, occurring every two to seven years, has further amplified global temperatures.
3. Ocean Warming: The oceans, absorbing 90% of the Earth’s excess heat, have reached new heat content records.
4. Decrease in Aerosols: Reductions in aerosol concentrations, due to cleaner air regulations, may have a slight warming effect.
5. Volcanic Eruptions: The 2022 Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha‘apai eruption had a mixed effect on temperatures, with its emissions initially cooling but eventually not significantly altering the warming trend.
Impacts of Extreme Heat
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has highlighted the severe consequences of surpassing the 1.5°C warming threshold, including more intense rainfall, droughts, and heatwaves. Notably, severe heatwaves and droughts are expected to affect a larger fraction of the global population, with the risk of annual deadly heatwaves, similar to those experienced in India and Pakistan in 2015, increasing with further warming.
In essence, the recent records are a stark reminder of the urgent need to address human-induced global warming to mitigate its most severe impacts. Effective strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to changing climate conditions are crucial to prevent further catastrophic warming and its associated impacts on global ecosystems and human societies.
SRIRAM’s
