January destroys the heat record, an amazing scientist

Last month was the hottest January of a record-breaking January, and smiled at the previous high and stunning climate scientist who hoped that Cooler La Niña’s condition would eventually eliminate long-term heat streaks.

Copernicus Climate Change Services said January would be 1.75°C higher than before the Industrial Revolution, continuing to extend historic highs over 2023 and 2024.

Climate scientists were hoping that the exceptional spell would subside after the warming of the El Niño event in January 2024.

However, since then, heat has remained at record or near record levels, sparking debate among scientists that other factors could be driven to the top edge of expectations.

Scientists warn that some of the degree of warming increases the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events such as heat waves, heavy rain and droughts at any rate.

Copernicus climate scientist Julian Nicholas said January was 0.09c higher than its previous high in January 2024, a “significant margin” of global temperatures.

“This is a bit of a surprise. I didn’t expect to see this cooling effect or at least temporary brakes,” he told AFP.

Stephen Rahmstorff, a former student at Potsdam University, said it was the first time that temperatures recorded during the La Niña era have surpassed the previous El Niño temperatures.

“This is a serious concern. Over the past 60 years, all 25 La Niña January have been cooler than the surrounding years,” he said.

The weak La Nina

La Niña is expected to weaken this year, and Copernicus said that the general temperature in parts of the equatorial Pacific Ocean suggests “a slowing down or stalling movement towards cooling”.

Nicholas said it could disappear completely by March.

Last month, Copernicus said that the averaged global temperature over 2023 and 2024 exceeded 1.5 degrees Celsius for the first time.

This did not constitute a permanent violation of the long-term 1.5c warming target under the Paris Climate Agreement, but it was a clear indication that the restrictions were being tested.

Overall, 2025 is not expected to follow 2023 and 2024 into history books. Scientists predict that it will still rank in its third year.

Copernicus said it will closely monitor ocean temperatures throughout 2025 with tips on how climate behaves.

The ocean is a key climate regulator and a carbon sink, and cold water helps to absorb more heat from the atmosphere and lower temperatures.

They also store 90% of the excess heat trapped by the release of human greenhouse gases.

“This fever is supposed to resurface regularly,” Nicholas said.

“I think that’s one of the questions too. Has this been happening in the past few years?”

Sea surface temperatures have been very warm over 2023 and 2024, with Copernicus saying that January reading was the second highest on record.

“That’s a bit inexplicable. Why do they stay so warm,” Nicholas said.

Unresolved questions

Bill McGuire, a climate scientist at the University of London, said January was “surprising and frankly frightening” despite La Niña’s appearance.

Joel Hirsi of the UK National Oceanography Centre for Oceanography warned against reading too many months of data, saying record warmth was observed following the El Niño stage after La Niña’s onset .

Scientists unanimously believe that fossil fuel burning is primarily driving long-term global warming, and natural climate changes can affect temperatures from the first year to the next year is.

However, natural warming cycles like El Niño could not only explain what happened in the atmosphere or the ocean, and answers were sought elsewhere.

One theory is that the global shift towards clean transport fuels in 2020 has accelerated global warming by making clouds more mirrored and reducing sulfur emissions that reflect sunlight.

In December, a peer-reviewed paper looked into whether the reduction in lowland clouds reached more heat on the Earth’s surface.

“These are paths that must be taken seriously and we must remain open,” Robert Vaultard, a leading scientist at the UN panel of climate experts, told AFP.

The EU monitor uses billions of measurements from satellites, ships, aircraft and weather stations to aid in climate calculations.

The record dates back to 1940, but other sources of climate data, such as ice cores, tree rings and coral skeletons, are said to have been that scientists use much more evidence from the past to broaden their conclusions. is permitted.

Scientists say the current period is likely to be the warmest of the world for the past 125,000 years.

©2025 AFP