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06/06/2024

A Year of Record Global Heat has Pushed Earth Closer to Dangerous Threshold

Temps surpassed the 1.5-degree Celsius warming threshold in the past 12 months

A streak of record-setting heat that began last summer has now persisted for an entire year across the globe, researchers announced Wednesday, pushing Earth closer to a dangerous threshold that the world’s nations have pledged not to cross.

The data released by European climate scientists showed May was the 12th consecutive month during which average global temperatures surpassed all observations since 1850, and probably any extended period for more than 100,000 years. Over the past year, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, global temperatures averaged 1.6 degrees Celsius (2.9 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels.

Under the landmark 2015 Paris agreement, the world’s leaders pledged to limit Earth’s temperature rise to 1.5 degrees C (2.7 degrees F) over preindustrial levels, to avert some of the worst effects of global warming. The fact that the planet surpassed this mark for one year does not amount to a permanent shift, but it comes as scientists are warning that it is likely to happen again — within a few years.

Please select this link to read the complete article from The Washington Post. 

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