BRUSSELS: The world witnessed the hottest April on record, adding to an 11-month streak in which every month set a (fresh) temperature record, the European Union’s climate change monitoring service stated on Wednesday.

Every single month since June of 2023, has ranked as the planet’s hottest on record, as compared to the corresponding month in previous years, the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said in its monthly bulletin.

Including the month of April, the world’s mean temperature was the highest on record for a period of 12-months (1.61 degrees Celsius above the average), in the 1850-1900 pre-industrial period.

Some of the extremes which include months of record breaking sea surface temperatures, have led scientists to investigate whether human activity has now triggered a tipping point in the climate system.

“I think many scientists have asked the question whether there could be a shift in the climate system” said Julien Nicolas, C3S Senior Climate Scientist.

Greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels is the central component of climate change. In recent months, the natural El Nino phenomenon, which warms surface waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean, has also contributed to a rise in temperatures.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2024