September 2024 was the second hottest September ever measured, accompanied by “extreme” precipitation

This month makes it “almost certain that 2024 will be the hottest year ever measured” ahead of the record of 2023, according to the European Copernicus Observatory.

After September 2023, the month of September 2024 was the second hottest September ever recorded on the planet, the European Copernicus Observatory announced on Tuesday October 8. This month continues a streak of more than a year of exceptional temperatures, which makes “almost certain that 2024 will be the hottest year ever measured”ahead of the 2023 record.

An average temperature of 16.17°C, or 1.54°C warmer than an average September in the pre-industrial climate (1850-1900), was measured in September. This is the 14th in the last 15 months to cross the threshold of 1.5°C of warming, the most ambitious objective set by the 2015 Paris agreement.

“Last month’s extreme precipitation, which we are seeing more and more often, was made worse by a warmer atmosphere”leading in places “months of rain in a few days”, said Samantha Burgess, deputy director of Copernicus’ climate change department.

The monthly bulletin highlights the examples of Storm Boris, synonymous with exceptional flooding in Central Europe, and the monsoon which “severely hit” Pakistan, and Typhoon Krathon which hit Taiwan and the Philippines in early October.

September was also marked by the devastation of super typhoons Yagi and Bebinca in Asia, deadly floods in Nepal and Japan and Hurricane Helene in the United States. In West and Central Africa, an intense rainy season left more than 1,500 victims, four million affected and 1.2 million displaced, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Since the 19th century, the average temperature of the Earth warmed by 1.1°C . Scientists have established with certainty that this increase is due to human activities, which consume fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas). This warming, unprecedented in its speed, threatens the future of our societies and biodiversity. But solutions – renewable energies, sobriety, reduced meat consumption – exist. Discover our answers to your questions on the climate crisis.