PARIS, Dec 7, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Last month was the hottest November on
record as Europe basked in its highest Autumn temperatures in history, the
European Union’s satellite monitoring service said Monday.
The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) analysis of surface and air
temperatures found that November 2020 was 0.8C warmer than the 30-year
average of 1981-2010 — more than 0.1C hotter than the previous record.
For boreal autumn (September-November) temperatures in Europe were 1.9C
above the standard reference period, 0.4C higher than the average temperature
in 2006, which was the previous warmest.
“These records are consistent with the long-term warming trend of the
global climate,” said C3S director Carlo Buontempo.
“All policy-makers who prioritise mitigating climate risks should see
these records as alarm bells and consider more seriously than ever how to
best comply with the international commitments set out in the 2015 Paris
Agreement”.
The landmark deal, which turns five this month, enjoins nations to limit
temperature rises to “well-below” 2C (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial
levels.
Last week the World Meteorological Organization said 2020 was on course to
be among the three hottest years ever recorded.
C3S said that with just one month left to go, 2020 is on par to match
2016, the current record holder.
With just over 1C of warming so far, Earth is already dealing with the
devastation caused by more frequent and stronger extreme weather events such
as wildfires and tropical storms.
Satellite images analysed by C3S also showed that Arctic sea ice extent
was the second lowest for November in the database, which began in 1979. The
largest negative sea ice concentration anomalies were in the Kara Sea, while
there was below average cover in the eastern Canadian archipelago and Baffin
Bay.
“This trend is concerning and highlights the importance of comprehensive
monitoring of the Arctic, as it is warming faster than the rest of the
world,” said Buontempo. Temperatures were substantially higher than normal
across the Arctic and much of Siberia last month, and higher than average
across the United States, South America, southern Africa, eastern Antarctica
and most of Australia, C3S said.
The five hottest years in history have all come since 2015.