Andrew Freedman
AXIOS
Mon, January 10, 2022
The past seven years have been the seven hottest on record, according to the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service, which released new global temperature data this morning.
Why it matters: The data shows in vivid detail that, even though 2021 was relatively cool compared to other recent years, it still ranked as the fifth warmest year and continued a trend driven by ever-growing amounts of greenhouse gases in the air.
The big picture: According to Copernicus, the annual global average surface temperature was 1.1-1.2°C (1.98-2.16°F) above pre-industrial levels (1850-1900).
Details: Europe had its hottest summer on record, and saw deadly extreme weather events, such as the flooding that hit Germany, Belgium and several other countries in July. A study subsequently found that climate change made those floods more severe.
The areas with the most unusual warmth during 2021 included the U.S. West Coast, parts of Canada and Greenland, much of central and northern Africa and the Middle East.
The regions that saw cooler-than-average conditions, relative to the 1991-2020 average, were in Siberia, Alaska, parts of the Pacific Ocean, and most of Australia, Copernicus found.
During a sizzling heat wave last summer, a preliminary European heat record was set in Sicily, where the temperature reached 48.8°C (120°F).
Copernicus researchers found wildfire-generated greenhouse gas emissions from North America were the highest on record since such data began in 2003, as the U.S. and Canada contended with massive blazes.
Of note: Both methane and carbon dioxide, two of the leading planet-warming gases, reached new highs in 2021, with methane making a particularly large jump.
Go deeper: U.S. greenhouse gas emissions jumped in 2021
Mon, January 10, 2022
The past seven years have been the seven hottest on record, according to the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service, which released new global temperature data this morning.
Why it matters: The data shows in vivid detail that, even though 2021 was relatively cool compared to other recent years, it still ranked as the fifth warmest year and continued a trend driven by ever-growing amounts of greenhouse gases in the air.
The big picture: According to Copernicus, the annual global average surface temperature was 1.1-1.2°C (1.98-2.16°F) above pre-industrial levels (1850-1900).
Details: Europe had its hottest summer on record, and saw deadly extreme weather events, such as the flooding that hit Germany, Belgium and several other countries in July. A study subsequently found that climate change made those floods more severe.
The areas with the most unusual warmth during 2021 included the U.S. West Coast, parts of Canada and Greenland, much of central and northern Africa and the Middle East.
The regions that saw cooler-than-average conditions, relative to the 1991-2020 average, were in Siberia, Alaska, parts of the Pacific Ocean, and most of Australia, Copernicus found.
During a sizzling heat wave last summer, a preliminary European heat record was set in Sicily, where the temperature reached 48.8°C (120°F).
Copernicus researchers found wildfire-generated greenhouse gas emissions from North America were the highest on record since such data began in 2003, as the U.S. and Canada contended with massive blazes.
Of note: Both methane and carbon dioxide, two of the leading planet-warming gases, reached new highs in 2021, with methane making a particularly large jump.
Go deeper: U.S. greenhouse gas emissions jumped in 2021
EU report: 2021 was fifth-hottest year on record
People cool off in hot and humid weather at the mist garden near the World's Fair Unisphere in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in New York City on August 26. A European Union report on Monday said the past seven years have been the hottest in history. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Jan. 10 (UPI) -- The European Union's climate agency said Monday that 2021 was the fifth-hottest year on record and that the past seven years together have been the warmest ever.
The Copernicus Climate Change Service, an arm of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, said 2021 was slightly warmer than 2015 and 2018 with its average temperature 0.3 degrees Celsius above the temperature of the 1991-2020 reference point and 1.1-1.2 C above the pre-industrial level of 1850-1900.
"Only with determined efforts backed up by observational evidence can we make a real difference in our fight against climate catastrophe," said Vincent-Henri Peuch, director of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, according to Politico.
Europe's temperature was 0.1 degrees Celsius over the 1991-2020 average last year but was still its highest temperature on record.
"July saw a very heavy rainfall event in western-central Europe, leading to severe floods in several countries, while the Mediterranean region experienced a heatwave during July and part of August," the report said.
Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands suffered severe flooding events while high temperatures affected Greece, Spain and Italy.
People cool off in hot and humid weather at the mist garden near the World's Fair Unisphere in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in New York City on August 26. A European Union report on Monday said the past seven years have been the hottest in history. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Jan. 10 (UPI) -- The European Union's climate agency said Monday that 2021 was the fifth-hottest year on record and that the past seven years together have been the warmest ever.
The Copernicus Climate Change Service, an arm of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, said 2021 was slightly warmer than 2015 and 2018 with its average temperature 0.3 degrees Celsius above the temperature of the 1991-2020 reference point and 1.1-1.2 C above the pre-industrial level of 1850-1900.
"Only with determined efforts backed up by observational evidence can we make a real difference in our fight against climate catastrophe," said Vincent-Henri Peuch, director of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, according to Politico.
Europe's temperature was 0.1 degrees Celsius over the 1991-2020 average last year but was still its highest temperature on record.
"July saw a very heavy rainfall event in western-central Europe, leading to severe floods in several countries, while the Mediterranean region experienced a heatwave during July and part of August," the report said.
Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands suffered severe flooding events while high temperatures affected Greece, Spain and Italy.
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