European Climate Agency: 2024 Is Likely Hottest Year on Record
2024-12-12
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1A recent report by the European climate service Copernicus says that November was the second-warmest November for which the agency has records.
2The finding means that Copernicus will likely declare 2024 the hottest year ever measured using its sets of data.
3Copernicus called last year the hottest on record.
4But after this summer, scientists involved in the effort were expecting that 2024 would set a new record.
5In November, the global temperature average was 14.10 Celsius.
6Through November, this year's average global temperature is 0.14 Celsius above the same period last year.
7Jennifer Francis is a climate scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center in the northeastern U.S. state of Massachusetts.
8Francis, who was not involved in the report, said the big story about November is that "like 2023, it beat out previous Novembers by a large margin."
9The report said 2024 will likely be the first year in which the average temperature was more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times.
10In earlier publications, Copernicus calls pre-industrial times the period between 1850 and 1900.
11The 2015 Paris Agreement says human-caused warming should be limited to 2 degrees Celsius.
12In the years following 2015, the world's top climate scientist said it was important to limit the rise in temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius to prevent the worst effects of climate change.
13The scientists said these effects could include increasingly destructive and frequent extreme weather events.
14Copernicus Deputy Director Samantha Burgess said in a news release that "ambitious climate action is more urgent than ever."
15Many scientists say the main cause of climate change is the burning of fuels like coal, oil and natural gas.
16Francis said the new records are "terrible news for people and ecosystems."
17Francis predicted bad effects from the quickly changing climate.
18These include the possibility of animals dying off and changes to the natural food webs that the animals are part of.
19She added that coastal communities may face problems because of rising sea levels.
20Experts said heat waves over the oceans and a loss of sea ice and snow cover probably played a part in the temperature increase this year.
21Copernicus, the European agency, said the area of Antarctic sea ice in November was 10 percent below average, a record.
22The Associated Press reports that oceans absorb about 90 percent of the heat trapped by greenhouse gases.
23They then release heat and water vapor back into the atmosphere.
24Last year's record heat was caused partly by an El Niño - a temporary natural warming of parts of the central Pacific that affects weather worldwide.
25But that ended earlier this year and an effect that often follows, called La Niña, failed to take place.
26This left the scientific community "a little perplexed by what's going on here...why temperatures are staying high," said Jonathan Overpeck.
27Overpeck is a climate scientist at the University of Michigan.
28One theory is that an El Niño releases more heat to the atmosphere because of warmer ocean waters.
29Overpeck said, "we're not getting the cooling effect that often in decades gone by helps bring the temperature back down."
30This year, he said, "is such a big jump following yet another jump..."
31I'm John Russell.
1A recent report by the European climate service Copernicus says that November was the second-warmest November for which the agency has records. 2The finding means that Copernicus will likely declare 2024 the hottest year ever measured using its sets of data. 3Copernicus called last year the hottest on record. But after this summer, scientists involved in the effort were expecting that 2024 would set a new record. 4In November, the global temperature average was 14.10 Celsius. Through November, this year's average global temperature is 0.14 Celsius above the same period last year. 5Jennifer Francis is a climate scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center in the northeastern U.S. state of Massachusetts. Francis, who was not involved in the report, said the big story about November is that "like 2023, it beat out previous Novembers by a large margin." 6The report said 2024 will likely be the first year in which the average temperature was more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times. In earlier publications, Copernicus calls pre-industrial times the period between 1850 and 1900. 7The 2015 Paris Agreement says human-caused warming should be limited to 2 degrees Celsius. 8In the years following 2015, the world's top climate scientist said it was important to limit the rise in temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius to prevent the worst effects of climate change. The scientists said these effects could include increasingly destructive and frequent extreme weather events. 9Copernicus Deputy Director Samantha Burgess said in a news release that "ambitious climate action is more urgent than ever." 10Many scientists say the main cause of climate change is the burning of fuels like coal, oil and natural gas. 11Francis said the new records are "terrible news for people and ecosystems." 12Francis predicted bad effects from the quickly changing climate. These include the possibility of animals dying off and changes to the natural food webs that the animals are part of. 13She added that coastal communities may face problems because of rising sea levels. 14Experts said heat waves over the oceans and a loss of sea ice and snow cover probably played a part in the temperature increase this year. Copernicus, the European agency, said the area of Antarctic sea ice in November was 10 percent below average, a record. 15The Associated Press reports that oceans absorb about 90 percent of the heat trapped by greenhouse gases. They then release heat and water vapor back into the atmosphere. 16Last year's record heat was caused partly by an El Niño - a temporary natural warming of parts of the central Pacific that affects weather worldwide. 17But that ended earlier this year and an effect that often follows, called La Niña, failed to take place. This left the scientific community "a little perplexed by what's going on here...why temperatures are staying high," said Jonathan Overpeck. 18Overpeck is a climate scientist at the University of Michigan. 19One theory is that an El Niño releases more heat to the atmosphere because of warmer ocean waters. Overpeck said, "we're not getting the cooling effect that often in decades gone by helps bring the temperature back down." 20This year, he said, "is such a big jump following yet another jump..." 21I'm John Russell. 22Tammy Webber reported on this story for the Associated Press. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English. 23_____________________________________________ 24Words in This Story 25margin - n. a measure or degree of difference 26frequent - adj. acting or returning regularly or often 27ambitious - adj. hoping to reach a particular goal