Earth has its warmest March on record, beating 2023's milestone
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March marked the globe's 10th month in a row that set its warmest respective month on record.
Driving the news: This morning Europe's Copernicus Climate Change Service announced the milestone, making a recent preliminary finding official.
Why it matters: Copernicus is among the most closely-watched and respected sources of temperature data, and reports before the U.S.' climate agencies, NOAA and NASA.
- March marks just the latest in a string of troubling developments on the climate front.
- 2023 was the warmest year on record, and global conditions — including record warm oceans — are worrying scientists.
- Unusually warm waters in the tropical Atlantic led to the issuance this month of an extremely bullish forecast for the upcoming hurricane season.
State of play: Last month was 0.73°C (1.3°F) above the 1991-2020 average for March, and 1.68°C (3.0°F) above estimated preindustrial levels, which are calculated for the period from 1850-1900, Copernicus found.
Between the lines: Two other key records were also set during March: the hottest 12-month period, and the milestone for the hottest global average sea surface temperatures, Copernicus showed.
- Many regions of the globe were unusually warm during March, including large parts of Europe, eastern North America, Greenland, parts of South America, Africa, southern Australia and Antarctica.
- April has started out with record heat in multiple locations worldwide, particularly across Europe, southeast Asia and parts of Africa.
- In Europe, many locations have already seen temperatures soaring well into the 80s°F, exceeding records for the earliest such heat.
What they're saying: "Stopping further warming requires rapid reductions in greenhouse gas emissions," deputy director of the Copernicus Climate Service Samantha Burgess said in a statement.
What's next: As an intense El Niño event continues to weaken in the tropical Pacific, global air and ocean temperatures may begin to decline relative to other top 5 record years.
