Global annual temperatures remain above 1.5°C threshold for second month

March was the 10th month in the row to break records for the respective month of the year, according to new Copernicus analysis

Surfers head out to the water on a hot autumn day at Freshwater Beach in Sydney on March 12, 2024. AFP

A man makes the most of a hot day as he reads at Joan Miro Park in Barcelona on March 13. Reuters

People enjoying the beach during a heatwave in Rio de Janeiro on March 17. AFP

A hazy, hot and overcast day in Dubai on March 20. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Sunny weather in Hong Kong Park, where the temperature hit 31.5°C on March 24. Reuters

Visitors shelter from the Sun on a hot afternoon at India Gate, New Delhi. Getty Images

The temperature rises in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo on March 31 when it reached 28.1°C. Reuters

The global average temperature for the last 12 months is the highest on record, at 1.58C above the pre-industrial average from 1850-1900, scientists said on Tuesday.

The temperature has for the second month pushed the world – temporarily at least – above the 1.5C threshold to which countries have agreed to limit global warming to avoid its most dangerous impacts.

The EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) shows March 2024 was hotter globally than any other previous record for the month, with temperatures 1.68C warmer than the estimate for pre-industrial times.

It is the 10th month in the row to break records for the respective month of the year, the Copernicus analysis found.

Sea surface temperatures outside the polar regions were at record highs in March, averaging 21.07C for the month, marginally above the 21.06C recorded for February.

The figures from C3S also show how temperatures have risen significantly in recent years, with the global average temperatures over the past 12 months up 0.7C on the 1991-2020 average, and this March 0.73C warmer than average for that period.

European temperatures were 2.12C warmer than the 1991-2020 average in March, making it the second warmest on record for the continent and only 0.02C cooler than March 2014, the data show.

Outside Europe, temperatures were furthest above average over eastern North America, Greenland, eastern Russia, Central America, parts of South America, many parts of Africa, southern Australia, and parts of Antarctica, the analysis shows.

"March 2024 continues the sequence of climate records toppling for both air temperature and ocean surface temperatures, with the 10th consecutive record-breaking month," Samantha Burgess, deputy director of C3S, said.

“The global average temperature is the highest on record, with the past 12 months being 1.58C above pre-industrial levels.

“Stopping further warming requires rapid reductions in greenhouse gas emissions,” she added.