World Extends Run of Heat Records for 11th Month in a Row

April was the Earth’s 11th consecutive month of record-breaking heat, with warmer weather already sweeping across Asia and a hotter-than-usual summer expected in Europe.

The European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service said last month’s temperatures globally were 1.58C (2.8F) above historical averages and marked the hottest April on record. The past 12 months have been 1.61C higher than pre-industrial temperatures, exceeding the 1.5C threshold that policymakers and scientists say could threaten life on the planet.

“Whilst temperature variations associated with natural cycles like El Niño come and go, the extra energy trapped into the ocean and the atmosphere by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases will keep pushing the global temperature towards new records,” Copernicus Director Carlo Buontempo said in a statement.

The Copernicus program – the world’s biggest provider of climate data – uses billions of measurements from satellites, ships, aircraft and weather stations around the world for its monthly and seasonal forecasts.

Photograph: A man unloads blocks of ice from a truck during high temperatures in Bangkok, Thailand, on Sunday, April 28, 2024. Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy has been bracing for hotter-than-normal days due to the El Niño weather pattern that is forecast to last until June. Photo credit: Andre Malerba/Bloomberg

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