April this year was the hottest ever across the world and normal life was disrupted in many countries due to record heat, rain and floods. This information has been given in new data released on Wednesday by the European Union (EU) climate agency Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). According to C3S, April was the 11th consecutive month of record high temperatures due to the combined effects of a now-weakening El Nino and anthropogenic climate change. The global average temperature in April was 15.03 °C, which is 1.50 °C higher than the monthly average temperature for the pre-industrial reference period specified from 1850 to 1900 and 0.67 °C higher than the average April temperature from 1991 to 2020. This is 0.14 degrees Celsius higher than the previous all-time high temperature recorded in April, 2016. Carlo Buontempo, director of C3S, said El Nino peaked at the beginning of the year and sea surface temperatures in the eastern tropical Pacific are now returning to neutral conditions.
However, temperature fluctuations associated with natural cycles such as El Niño continue, and additional energy in the oceans and atmosphere due to increased greenhouse gases will continue to push global temperatures to new records. C3S also reported that the average global temperature over the past 12 months (May, 2023 to April, 2024) was at a record high, 0.73 degrees Celsius above the 1991 to 2020 average and 1.61 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average of 1850 to 1900. was excessive. According to C3S, the global average temperature crossed the 1.5°C threshold for the first time in January for the entire year. However, a permanent breach of the 1.5 °C limit specified in the Paris Agreement refers to long-term warming over many years. Climate scientists say countries need to limit the rise in global average temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels to avoid the worst effects of climate change.
The global economy may suffer an annual loss of EU38 lakh crore by 2049.
According to a recent study by scientists at Germany’s Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, the impacts of climate events could cost the global economy $3.8 trillion annually by 2049, and the countries that are least responsible for global warming and Those who have the least resources to deal with its impacts. The biggest hit will be the increase in greenhouse gases, mainly carbon dioxide and methane, in the atmosphere as Earth’s global surface temperature rises by about 1.15 degrees Celsius compared to the 1850-1900 average. This warming is being blamed for record droughts, fires and floods around the world.
Heat wave in Asia, heaviest rain in UAE in 75 years
Globally, the year 2023 was the hottest year in the 174-year observed record, with global average temperatures 1.45 °C above the pre-industrial baseline (1850–1900). According to ZR3G scientists, El Nino is weakening and returning to neutral conditions, but sea surface temperatures remain unusually high in April. During 2023–24, the world witnessed extreme weather due to the combined effects of El Nino and anthropogenic climate change. A heat wave in Asia has led to the temporary closure of schools in the Philippines, while heat records are being broken in India during the Lok Sabha elections. Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar also saw record heat while the United Arab Emirates saw its heaviest rainfall in 75 years. April is the 13th consecutive month when record high temperatures were recorded in the ocean.
