In the Northern Hemisphere, the summer of 2024 became the warmest on record, so this year is likely to be considered the hottest on record, reports the European climate service Copernicus. With many temperature records already broken in 2023 due to human-caused climate change and the El Niño phenomenon, the average temperature of the meteorological summer (June, July and August) in the Northern Hemisphere reached 16.8 °C, narrowly beating the previous record from 2023.

According to Copernicus data, the last ten years have been the warmest on record, and are likely to match temperatures not seen in the last 120,000 years. August 2024 and August 2023 were the warmest Augusts on record, averaging 16.8°C, while July this year was the first month not to break the previous year's temperature record. However, due to the extreme temperatures in June, the summer as a whole was the hottest on record, as confirmed by Copernicus Programme Director Carlo Buontempo.

Scientists warn that the data is a sign of the growing severity of the climate crisis, and a prominent climatologist not directly involved in the research has warned that the situation is getting worse. High temperatures are accompanied by increased humidity, with new dew point records likely to be set in many areas of the world.

Buontempo was initially uncertain whether 2024 would surpass 2023 as the hottest year on record, but the extreme heat in August has convinced him that 2024 is almost certain to become the hottest year on record, barring a sudden and dramatic cooling in the coming months, which is considered unlikely. Although a La Niña event, which typically cools the central Pacific, is expected, it is not expected to have a strong enough impact to prevent this new annual temperature record.

The consequences of these extreme temperatures are not just numbers, they have serious human impacts. A climate scientist at the University of Michigan reports that many cities around the world are experiencing long periods of extreme heat, with temperatures exceeding 37.7°C for more than 100 days. Longer and more intense heat waves, coupled with more severe droughts and torrential rains, are making the effects of climate change increasingly apparent and costly.

Jennifer Francis, a climatologist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center on Cape Cod, also stressed that the intensification of extreme weather conditions, including fires, flooding and dangerous winds, is leading to an alarming situation. She compared our failure to respond adequately to a population accustomed to being bombed and failing to recognize the growing danger.

Although some of the record heat was influenced by El Niño, Buontempo explained that this phenomenon is temporary and that the real impact on the rise in temperatures is long-term climate change caused by the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas. (Co2AI)