Latest Developments in Global Climate Change - Issue 95

Latest developments in global climate change

Eliza Chan Man-yee

The record for global high temperatures has been broken again!

June to August 2024 was the northern hemisphere’s warmest summer on record, with an average surface temperature over 1.5°C higher than the climate average. Asia, Oceania, Europe, and Africa all experienced their warmest summers on record. In addition, these three months were also the warmest winter on record in the southern hemisphere.

In August 2024, the global average surface temperature reached a record monthly high for the 15th consecutive month. According to data from the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, September 2024 was the second warmest September on record.

Climate change is becoming increasingly severe. As citizens of the Earth, we must save energy and reduce emissions in our daily lives, practise green living, and achieve carbon neutrality as soon as possible.

Temperature percentiles from June to August 2024 (image source: NOAA).