Under the Paris climate agreement, world leaders said they would try to prevent global temperatures rising by more than 1.5C – but the threshold was based on long-term multidecadal warming and not short-term monthly temperatures.
The Copernicus Climate Change Service said last month was the warmest January on record, with surface-air temperatures 1.75C above preindustrial levels.
Hottest January on record mystifies climate scientists EU monitor says global temperatures were 1.75C above preindustrial levels, extending run of unprecedented highs.
La Niña is expected to be weak, and Copernicus said prevailing temperatures in parts of the equatorial Pacific Ocean suggested a slowing or stalling of the move towards the cooling phenomenon.
Climate scientists had expected this exceptional spell to subside after a warming El Niño event peaked in January 2024 and conditions shifted to an opposing, cooling La Niña phase.
