Editor's note: An earlier version of this story had several typographical errors in the Words in This Story section. They have been fixed and we regret the errors.
The European Union’s climate agency, Copernicus, says the world’s temperature averaged 14.14 degrees Celsius in March.
The latest monthly temperature means that Copernicus has reported a record high temperature for 10 months in a row.
Copernicus added that the month was 1.68 degrees warmer than the estimated average for the month of March for the period from 1850 to 1900. The agency calls this period the “pre-industrial” period before oil, gas and coal were used in large amounts.
Since last June, weather agencies have been reporting record high average world temperatures. Some scientists say they are not surprised by the reports.
This year, a strong El Niño event is affecting weather in many parts of the world. El Niño is an unusually warm current that periodically appears in the southern Pacific Ocean and changes weather in places around the world.
Jennifer Francis is a scientist with the nonprofit Woodwell Climate Research Center in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. She said the periodic warm current is part of high temperatures: “But its combination with the non-natural marine heat waves made these records so breathtaking.”
Francis added that, as the El Niño becomes less intense, the reported temperatures above global averages should go down.
Climate scientists, like Francis, say that human activity is responsible for the record heat. They say burning coal, oil and natural gas results in more carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere. Those two are called “greenhouse gases” because they are said to “trap heat.”
“The trajectory will not change until concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere stop rising,” Francis said. “…We must stop burning fossil fuels, stop deforestation, and grow our food more sustainably as quickly as possible.” Until then, Francis added, expect more broken records.
The 2015 Paris Agreement is an international plan that sets a goal of limiting the increase of the world’s average temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius or below. Its idea is to keep temperatures as close as possible to “pre-industrial” levels.
Samantha Burgess is deputy director of Copernicus Climate Change Service. She said the new March record temperature was not as high compared to other records. “We’ve had record-breaking months that have been even more unusual,” Burgess said. These include February 2024 and September of 2023.
But Burgess noted, the “trajectory is not in the right direction.”
For March, Copernicus also reported that global sea surface temperatures averaged 21.07 degrees Celsius. The agency said this was the highest value ever recorded. The temperatures are only for the area between 60 degrees south latitude and 60 degrees north latitude.
The Copernicus’ official said more needs to be done to control world temperatures. “We need more ambitious global action to ensure that we can get to net zero as soon as possible,” Burgess said.
I’m Mario Ritter, Jr.
Suman Naishadham reported this story for the Associated Press. Mario Ritter, Jr. adapted it for VOA Learning English with additional information from Copernicus.
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Words in This Story
in a row –phrase one after the other without a break in between
marine –adj. related to the sea
breathtaking –adj. causing surprise and astonishment
trajectory –n. the path that something takes
concentration –n. the amount of a substance in one place, usually describing the density of its presence
ambitious –adj. aiming to become more powerful
net zero –adj. related to a system in which inputs and outputs are balanced, and which produces no gain
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