2024 is 'virtually certain' to be the hottest year on RECORD - and the first year above 1.5°C, scientists say
Daily MailBritain might be beginning to feel the winter chill, but 2024 is now 'virtually certain' to be the hottest year on record. And as temperatures look likely to outstrip last year's record-breaking highs, 2024 is on course become the first year 1.5°C above the pre-industrial average. Scientists from the Copernicus Climate Change Service say that 2024 is now virtually certain to be the hottest year on record and the first year to exceed 1.5°C above the pre-industrial average Last month was the second hottest October on record, coming in just behind the record-breaking temperatures of 2023. C3S say that temperatures have been particularly high in central USA, Northern Canada, and Japan where the iconic peak of Mt Fuji remained snowless until the start of November A record-breaking summer saw the average temperature the highest on record at 0.69°C above the 1991-2020 average, surpassing the previous record from June to August 2023 And in the 12 months from November 2023 to October 2024, the average surface temperature had been 0.74°C above the average for 1991-2020. As temperatures rise more than 1.5°C above the pre-industrial average, scientists warn that extreme weather events will only become more likely Studies have shown that the Mediterranean region - which is home to more than 510 million people - is warming 20 per cent faster than the global average As warming temperatures increase the risk posed by extreme weather patterns, these findings have sparked concerns about the threat posed by climate change.