May 2024 was the hottest ever, the UN alarm:“It's a crisis, mobilize immediately”

The data comes from the Copernicus Climate Change Service:this is the 12th record-breaking month in a row

ROME – May 2024 was the warmest May ever recorded globally, with a global average surface temperature 0.65°C higher than the average for the period between 1991 and 2020, marking the 12th consecutive month in which the average temperature global reaches a record value for the corresponding month. The data comes from the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). The global average temperature in May 2024 was 1.52°C above the pre-industrial average of the reference period between 1850 and 1900, marking the 11th consecutive month (since July 2023) with temperatures at or above 1.5°C.

The global average temperature of the last 12 months (June 2023-May 2024) is the highest ever recorded, with 0.75°C above the average between 1991 and 2020 and 1.63°C above the pre-industrial average between 1850 and 1900.The 12-month streak, then, is confirmed in conjunction with the publication by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Kingdom Meteorological Office of the update of the climate forecasts from annual to decadal, which summarizes the forecasts (annual and decadal) for the foreseeable future for the period between 2024 and 2028.The report shows, among many findings, that it is likely that at least one of the next five years will be the warmest on record, beating last 2023.

Carlo Buontempo, director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, commented:“It is shocking but not surprising that we have reached this 12-month streak.Even if this string of record-breaking months comes to an end, the overall evidence of climate change remains and there is no sign of this trend changing.We live in unprecedented times, but we also have an unprecedented ability to monitor the climate and this can help inform our actions. This string of warmer months will be remembered as relatively cold, but if we can stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere in the very near future, we could return to these 'cold' temperatures by the end of the century."

CS3 data and the WMO-UK Met Office report are used to support a major climate statement by UN Secretary-General António Guterres:“In the last year, at every turn of the calendar the heat turned up.Our planet is trying to tell us something. But we don't seem to listen to him.We are breaking global temperature records and reaping the rewards.It's time for the climate crisis.It's time to mobilize, act and react."