SRINAGAR (CNI)As parts of India continue to reel under the impact of severe heatwave in June continuing from last month, Nasa scientists have revealed that May 2024 was the hottest May on record, marking an unprecedented full year of record-high monthly temperatures globally.
According to researchers from NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), average global temperatures for the past 12 months hit new highs for each respective month – an unparalleled streak.
“It’s clear we are facing a climate crisis,” stated NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “Communities across America â like Arizona, California, Nevada â and communities across the globe are feeling first-hand extreme heat in unprecedented numbers. NASA and the Biden-Harris Administration recognise the urgency of protecting our home planet. We are providing critical climate data to better lives and livelihoods, and benefit all humanity.”
This visualization shows monthly global surface temperatures from 1880 to May 2024. (Photo: Nasa)
This run of record temperatures aligns with a long-term warming trend driven primarily by human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. The trend has become evident over the past four decades, with the last 10 consecutive years being the warmest since record-keeping began in the late 19th century.
Before this 12-month streak, the previous longest streak of record monthly temperatures lasted seven months between 2015 and 2016.
“We’re experiencing more hot days, more hot months, more hot years,” said Kate Calvin, NASA’s chief scientist and senior climate advisor. “We know that these increases in temperature are driven by our greenhouse gas emissions and are impacting people and ecosystems around the world.(CNI)