The Earth Experiences Unprecedented Breach of Crucial 1.5C Warming Limit for an Entire Year.

According to the EU's climate service, global warming has exceeded 1.5C for the first time in an entire year. This breaches the commitment made by world leaders in 2015 to limit the long-term temperature rise to 1.5C, which is crucial in avoiding severe impacts. While this breach doesn't break the Paris agreement, it brings the world closer to doing so in the long run. Scientists believe that urgent action to reduce carbon emissions can still slow down the rate of warming. Prof Liz Bentley, chief executive of the Royal Meteorological Society, states that going over 1.5C of warming on an annual average is significant and is another step in the wrong direction. Limiting long-term warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels has become a symbol of global efforts to address climate change. A UN report in 2018 highlighted that the risks from climate change are much greater at 2C of warming compared to 1.5C. Data from the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service shows a concerning pace of rising temperatures, with a breach of 1.52C of warming from February 2023 to January 2024. This breach was not unexpected, as January marked the eighth consecutive month of record warmth. Although there are slight variations in the estimates, all major datasets agree that the world is experiencing its warmest period since modern records began. The increase in sea surface temperature is another indicator of this global warming trend. Human activities, primarily the burning of fossil fuels, are the main drivers of the long-term warming trend. Additional warming has been contributed by the El Niño phenomenon. The red line in the graph demonstrates how air temperatures exceeded 1.5C of warming when El Niño intensified in the second half of 2023. While the end of El Niño is expected in a few months, human activities will continue to drive temperatures higher unless immediate action is taken. Samantha Burgess, Deputy Director of Copernicus, emphasizes that significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are necessary to prevent further temperature increases. If emissions continue at the current rate, the 1.5C warming goal set by the Paris agreement could be surpassed within the next decade. However, researchers note that this wouldn't trigger a climate crisis, but the impacts of climate change would intensify, as demonstrated by recent extreme weather events. Prof Myles Allen of the University of Oxford emphasizes that every increment of warming causes more harm, and surpassing 1.5C greatly increases the risks of reaching tipping points within the climate system, leading to irreversible changes. Despite these warnings, researchers believe that humans still have the power to alter the trajectory of global warming. The progress made in green technologies, such as renewables and electric vehicles, has reduced the likelihood of the worst-case warming scenarios. Achieving net-zero carbon emissions is seen as crucial in stopping further warming. Ultimately, the amount of warming the world experiences depends on societal and global choices, providing hope that doom is not inevitable.