CNN —Last month was the planet’s hottest February on record, marking the ninth month in a row that global records tumbled, according to new data from Copernicus, the European Union’s climate monitoring service.
It’s yet another grim climate change milestone, as the long-term impacts of human-caused global warming are given a boost by El Niño, a natural climate fluctuation.
Global temperatures in the first half of the month in particular were “exceptionally high,” according to the analysis.
“At times, the records have been broken by margins that are virtually statistically impossible,” McNoldy told CNN.
The Copernicus data “tells a familiar story of warming temperatures and shifting patterns of weather,” said Hannah Cloke, a climate scientist and professor at the University of Reading in the UK.
Persons:
Copernicus, El Niño, ” Carlo Buontempo, Brian McNoldy, ” McNoldy, ”, Hannah Cloke, Cloke, Derek Van Dam
Organizations:
CNN, El, University of Miami Rosenstiel School, “, University of Reading
Locations:
Paris