EU Climate Service:

This year will probably be the warmest since records began

(Bild: Wolfilser)

This year is increasingly likely to be the world's warmest year since records began. According to the EU climate service Copernicus, September was the second warmest ever measured worldwide.

Only in September 2023 was the global average temperature even higher, the Copernicus Climate Service announced on Tuesday.

New highs have already been reached in the months from January to September 2024, explained Copernicus, which uses billions of measurements from satellites, ships, airplanes and weather stations for its calculations. As a result, it is "almost certain that 2024 will be the warmest year since weather records began".

Extreme rainfall in many regions of the world
At the same time, Samantha Burgess, Deputy Director of the Copernicus Climate Service, explained that in some parts of the world, as much rain fell in just a few days in September 2024 as would normally fall in several months. Extreme rainfall and destructive storms occurred in many regions of the world.

Heat causes more seawater to evaporate
Climate change is causing these to occur with increasing severity and frequency. This is because global warming not only leads to rising temperatures: warmer oceans allow more water to evaporate and warmer air can also absorb more of it. This favors heavier downpours and storms.