The European Union's climate change monitoring agency announced today, Monday, that last month, June, was the hottest month ever recorded, continuing a series of exceptional temperatures that some scientists claim place 2024 on track to become the hottest year the world has ever seen. The Copernicus Climate Change Service in the EU stated in a monthly bulletin that every month since June 2023—13 consecutive months—has been classified as the hottest on the planet since records began, compared to the same month in previous years.
The latest data indicates that 2024 may surpass 2023 as the hottest year on record, as climate change caused by human activities and the climatic El Niño phenomenon has driven temperatures to record levels this year so far, according to some scientists. Climate change has already had severe consequences worldwide in 2024. More than a thousand people died from extreme heat while performing the Hajj last month. Heat-related deaths were also recorded in New Delhi, which suffered from an unprecedented prolonged heat wave, and among tourists in Greece.
Frederik Otto, a climate scientist at the Grantham Institute at Imperial College London, explained that there is a "high chance" for 2024 to become the hottest year on record. She added, "El Niño is a natural phenomenon that will always come and go. We cannot stop El Niño, but we can stop burning oil, gas, and coal." The natural El Niño phenomenon, which leads to warming of surface waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean, tends to raise the global average temperatures.
This effect has diminished over the past few months, as the world is now in neutral conditions before a cooler La Niña forms later this year. Greenhouse gas emissions resulting from fossil fuel burning are the primary cause of climate change. Despite promises to curb global warming, countries have collectively failed to reduce these emissions so far, leading to a steady rise in temperatures for decades.
