The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) of the European Union reported that Earth recorded a new monthly global temperature record in March, marking the tenth consecutive month of record-breaking heat. Global air and ocean temperatures reached their highest levels ever recorded during that month. The average temperature in March was 14.14 degrees Celsius, surpassing the previous record set in 2016 by one-tenth of a degree, according to Copernicus data. The temperature rose by 1.68 degrees Celsius compared to the late 19th century, the baseline used for temperature measurements before the rapid increase in fossil fuel burning.
Scientists noted that the record temperatures were not entirely unexpected due to the El Niño phenomenon, a climatic condition that heats the central Pacific Ocean and alters global weather patterns. Jennifer Francis, a scientist at the Woods Hole Research Center, stated, "But its coupling with abnormal marine heatwaves made these records truly astonishing," according to the Associated Press. Francis pointed out that as the El Niño phenomenon wanes, the margins by which global average temperatures surpass the monthly average should decrease.
Climate scientists attribute most of the record temperatures to human-induced climate change from carbon dioxide and methane emissions resulting from burning coal, oil, and natural gas. Francis emphasized, "This trajectory will not change until the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere stops rising, meaning we must stop burning fossil fuels, halt deforestation, and grow our food more sustainably as quickly as possible."
Under the Paris Agreement of 2015, the world set a target to maintain the temperature increase at or below 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The monthly temperature data released by Copernicus employs a slightly different measurement system than that of the Paris Agreement, which calculates its average over two or three decades.
