The recent ongoing increase in global temperatures has sparked varied reactions and intensified calls for action to address the triple planetary crisis.
This crisis encompasses climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental contamination, all of which are increasingly harming livelihoods, wildlife, and biodiversity.
The occurrences of El Nino in the Pacific are linked to temperature fluctuations along the equatorial Pacific. However, the severity and unprecedented nature of climate change crises are escalating due to human activities.
In February, there was a continuous increase in temperatures compared to those recorded since June 2023, with consistently high temperatures throughout. According to the EU’s climate service, last month was the warmest February ever recorded, highlighting a significant study showing that the sea surface temperatures were the highest on record. Additionally, Antarctic sea-ice levels were exceptionally low.
This information aligns with a report from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) indicating that carbon dioxide concentrations have reached their highest levels in at least two million years, with a near-record increase observed over the past year.
According to EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, these warming gases helped make February 2024 about 1.77C warmer than “pre-industrial” times – before humans started burning large amounts of fossil fuels. This increase in temperature has broken records from 2016, by up to 0.12C as evidenced by heat-affected western Australia, Southeast Asia, Southern Africa, and South America.
The 2016 record was instrumental as it came slightly after the adoption of the Paris Agreement which showed the unification of close to 200 countries in Paris in 2015 agreeing to front measures that would see the threshold in temperatures 1.5C unreached.
This declaration aimed to decrease with up to long-term evading of most of the worst climate impacts. However, the 12-month average now sits at 1.56C above pre-industrial levels indicating a stretch of a first-year-long breach of 1.5C warming confirmed by February 2024.
This is a significant moment to have such a revelation, especially coming just a week from the sixth United Nations Environment Assembly sessions held at UNEP Headquarters in Nairobi at the end of February. The leaders signaled an emphasis on pushing for a holistic approach at collectively united fronts that would ensure the addressing of the triple planetary crisis sustainably through action, action, and more actions.
Ocean warming is concerningly rising as indicated by scientists’ data, pointing out that despite the records showing an influence of El Nino on Ocean Surface temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific, there’s cited similar occurrence in other parts of the globe.
