"Not a curiosity"

Every month has broken the 1.5 degree mark for a year now

June 2024 was the warmest June since weather records began. The temperature was 1.5 degrees above the estimated average for the years 1850 to 1900, making it the twelfth consecutive month in which the 1.5 degree threshold was reached or exceeded.

In the Paris climate protection agreement at the end of 2015, the global community set itself the goal of keeping global warming well below two degrees and, if possible, limiting it to 1.5 degrees compared to pre-industrial times. However, this is about the average temperature over longer periods of time, not individual months or years.

1.5 degree threshold can no longer be maintained
Many climate experts believe that the 1.5 degree threshold can no longer be maintained. According to Copernicus data, the global temperature for the entire period from July 2023 to June 2024 was 1.64 degrees above the pre-industrial average.

The average surface air temperature in June was 16.66 degrees. This was 0.67 degrees above the June average from 1991 to 2020 and 0.14 degrees above the previous record of June 2023. The European average temperature in June 2024 exceeded the average value for the June months from 1991 to 2020 by 1.57 degrees.

Extreme heat and flooding
This made it the second warmest June in Europe since records began. It was particularly hot in the south-east of the continent and in Turkey, while temperatures in western Europe, Iceland and north-western Russia were close to or below average.

Such a series of records is unusual, but a similar series of monthly global temperature records already occurred in 2015/2016.

Copernicus

In Iceland, central Europe and large parts of south-western Europe, June was wetter than average, "with heavy rainfall leading to flooding in several regions of Germany, Italy, France and Switzerland".

Outside Europe, temperatures were above average in eastern Canada, the western USA and Mexico, Brazil, northern Siberia, the Middle East, North Africa and western Antarctica.

"Will inevitably see new records"
 "This is more than just a statistical curiosity, but highlights a major and ongoing climate change," explained Copernicus Director Carlo Buontempo. "Even if this particular series of extremes ends at some point, we are bound to see new records as the climate continues to warm. This is inevitable if we don't stop releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and oceans."

Among other things, the natural weather phenomenon El Niño could have contributed to the temperature records. Every few years, it causes a rise in water temperatures in parts of the Pacific and higher air temperatures.