March 2024 was the tenth consecutive month to break a world heat record, according to the Copernicus observatory

“The global average temperature over the last 12 months is the highest ever recorded” and exceeds pre-industrial levels by “1.58°C,” Samantha Burgess, of the European observatory, warned on Tuesday.

March 2024 was the hottest March ever recorded in the world, part of a series of ten consecutive monthly records, the European Copernicus Observatory announced on Tuesday April 9. The organization also noted a new absolute monthly record for global sea temperatures.

“March 2024 was warmer overall than any previous March on record”with a global average temperature of 14.14°C, “i.e. 0.73°C above the 1991-2020 average”, Copernicus specifies. Last month, the average temperature was also 1.68°C higher than a normal March in the climate of the pre-industrial era (1850-1900), according to the Climate Change Service (C3S) of the observatory.

“The global average temperature over the last 12 months is the highest on record” and exceeds “1.58°C pre-industrial levels”, said Samantha Burgess, deputy head of C3S. Global warming caused by decades of greenhouse gas emissions, the effect of which has been accentuated since mid-2023 by the El Niño phenomenon.

New heat record for the oceans

It has now been more than a year since the temperature of the oceans, major climate regulators which cover 70% of the Earth, has been warmer than ever. March 2024 even sets a new absolute record, all months combined, with an average of 21.07°C measured on their surface (excluding areas close to the poles).

“It’s incredibly unusual.”, notes Samantha Burgess. This overheating threatens marine life and brings more moisture into the atmosphere, meaning more unstable weather conditions, such as high winds and torrential rain. This warming also reduces the absorption of our greenhouse gas emissions into the seas. These are carbon sinks that store 90% of the excess energy caused by human activity.

“The more the global atmosphere warms, the more extreme events will be numerous, severe and intense”recalls Samantha Burgess, citing the threat “heat waves, droughts, floods and forest fires”.