February was the warmest month since records began

The average air temperature at Earth's surface was 13.54 degrees Celsius, according to the European Union's climate service Copernicus.

According to the European Union's climate service Copernicus, people on Earth experienced the warmest February since records began. The average air temperature at Earth's surface reached 13.54 degrees Celsius, the service said Thursday. This is 0.81 degrees above the average for the reference period from 1991 to 2020 and 0.12 degrees more than the warmest February recorded so far in 2016.

The data used by Copernicus goes back to 1950, but some earlier data is also available. This is the ninth month in a row that was warmest compared to the corresponding months of the previous year. “Although this may seem striking, it is not really surprising, because the continued warming of the climate system inevitably leads to new extreme temperatures,” said Carlo Bontempo, the organization’s director. Climate interacts with the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. As long as these levels cannot be stabilized, “we will inevitably face new global temperature records and their consequences.”

Copernicus had already announced in January that global warming was now for the first time over a twelve-month period (February 2023 to January 2024) on average more than 1.5 degrees greater than in the pre-industrial era. However, this does not mean that the Paris target of 1.5 degrees has been missed, as long-term average values ​​are considered.

The European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service regularly publishes data on surface temperatures, sea ice cover and precipitation. The results are based on computer-generated analyzes that include billions of measurements from satellites, ships, aircraft and weather stations around the world. (APA/DPA)