Excerpt:
April marked an 11th consecutive month of record global heat, the latest sign that humans are in uncharted climate territory
April marked an 11th consecutive month of record global heat, the latest sign that humans are in uncharted climate territory.
But there is reason to predict planetary temperatures could moderate soon, though they would remain far above old normals because of human-caused global warming.
“If 2024 continues to follow its expected trajectory, global temperatures will fall out of record territory in the next month or two,” Zeke Hausfather, a climate scientist with the payments company Stripe, wrote in a newsletter.
For now, the spate of unprecedented global heat continues to be felt around the world.
April began with a heat wave across West Africa that was so intense, an analysis determined it would have been “virtually impossible” without the influence of human-caused planetary warming.
The month ended with a stretch of record-setting heat across Southeast Asia, with temperatures surging well above 100 degrees and up to 120 degrees in some areas from India to the Philippines.
But data suggests a diminishing trend in the margins by which average global temperatures are setting records.
Hausfather called it “gobsmackingly bananas” when September set a new monthly average global temperature record by an unprecedented margin of 0.5 degrees Celsius. October set a record by a margin that was nearly as large and marked what was then the hottest 12-month period ever observed.
Preliminary data shows last month was 0.1 to 0.2 degrees Celsius warmer than the next-hottest April, a significant margin but relatively closer to past observations.
Climate scientists said it could be a sign that the surge of global warmth over the past year is beginning to wane, if only slightly…
