Hottest March in history was in 2024: EU climate body
The world experienced the warmest March ever due to a combined effect of El Niño and human-caused climate change, making it the 10th consecutive month since June last year to set a new temperature record.
The earth’s global surface temperature has already increased by around 1.15 degrees C compared to the average in 1850–1900, a level that hasn’t been witnessed since 1.25 lakh years ago, before the most recent ice age.
The rise in global average temperature is attributed to the rapidly increasing concentration of greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide and methane, in the atmosphere.
Globally, 2023 was the warmest year in the 174-year observational record, with the global average near-surface temperature at 1.45 degrees C above the pre-industrial baseline.
The warming may set a new record in 2024 as scientists say El Niño — periodic warming of the ocean surface in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean — typically has the greatest impact on global climate in the second year of its development.