And February, as well the previous two winter months, soared well past the internationally set threshold for long-term warming, Copernicus reported Wednesday.
February 2024 averaged 13.54 degrees Celsius (56.37 degrees Fahrenheit), breaking the old record from 2016 by about an eighth of a degree.
Climate scientists say most of the record heat is from human-caused climate change of carbon dioxide and methane emissions from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas.
Additional heat comes from a natural El Nino, a warming of the central Pacific that changes global weather patterns.
The three-month period was the most any season has been above pre-industrial levels in Copernicus record keeping, which goes back to 1940.
Persons:
Copernicus, El, it’s, ”, Jennifer Francis, ” Francis, El Nino, Francesca Guglielmo, “, Brian McNoldy, Natalie Mahowald, Francis, ___ Read, Seth Borenstein
Organizations:
WASHINGTON, European Union, El Nino, El, Climate, University of Miami, Cornell University, Associated Press
Locations:
European, Paris, El, El Ninos, AP.org