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The Journal
08-05-2025
- Science
- The Journal
Thought April was warm? You were right - it was the second-hottest April globally of modern records
THIS APRIL WAS almost the hottest of modern records, coming second only to April 2024. The average global surface air temperature last month was 14.96 degrees Celsius, the second hottest since modern records at the start of the industrial era, according to the latest monthly climate bulletin from Europe's Copernicus Climate Change Service. That was 0.60 of a degree above the 1991-2020 average for April and 1.51 degrees above the estimated 1850-1900 average. While those margins may appear small on paper, the world is actually very sensitive to temperatures changes; if sustained over many years, increases in global average temperatures of even a few degrees would be enough to send the world into all-out climate crisis. Countries agreed under the Paris Agreement in 2015 to try to limit rises in global average temperatures compared to pre-industrial times to to 1.5 degrees. April 2025 was the 21st month out of the last 22 where the global average surface air temperature was more than 1.5 degrees above the pre-industrial level. The goal of the Paris Agreement has not technically been breached – the rise will need to be sustained over a longer period of time for it to be considered that the Agreement's target has been missed – but it is a concerning signal that the world is heading in the wrong direction. Advertisement Monthly global surface air temperature anomalies (°C) relative to 1850–1900 from January 1940 to April 2025, plotted as time series for each year. Copernicus Climate Change Service Copernicus Climate Change Service The 12-month period of May 2024 to April 2025 was 0.70 of a degree above the 1991-2020 average and 1.58 degrees above the pre-industrial level. April 2025 was 0.07 of a degree cooler than April 2024, the hottest on record, and 0.07 of a degree warmer than the third hottest, which was April 2016. 'Globally, April 2025 was the second-hottest April on record, continuing the long sequence of months over 1.5°C above pre-industrial,' said Samantha Burgess, strategic lead for climate at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, which runs the Copernicus service. 'Continuous climate monitoring is an essential tool for understanding and responding to the ongoing changes of our climate system,' Burgess said. In Europe, the average temperature was 9.38 degrees Celsius, which is 1.01 degrees above the 1991-2020 average for April, making it the sixth-warmest April for Europe. The global average sea surface temperature between the latitudes of 60°S–60°N was 20.89 degrees Celsius, the second-highest value on record for the month — 0.15 of a degree below the April 2024 record. Sea surface temperatures 'remained unusually high' in many ocean basins and seas, including large areas of the North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Arctic sea ice extent was 3% below average, the sixth lowest monthly extent for April in the 47-year satellite record, and Antarctic sea ice extent was 10% below average, making it the 10th lowest on record for the month. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Express Tribune
30-04-2025
- Climate
- Express Tribune
Temperatures in Pakistan may hit record 50°C: report
Listen to article Temperatures in parts of Pakistan may reach unprecedented levels this week, nearing the global record for the month of April, according to The Washington Post report. Southern and central Pakistan recorded temperatures up to 118°F (47.7°C) over the weekend, and forecasts predict the mercury could climb even higher through Wednesday, potentially approaching the all-time April high of 122°F (50°C). That record was set in 2018 in Nawabshah, in Sindh province — the same area now under close watch again. The Pakistan Meteorological Department has issued heatwave warnings for many areas of the country from April 26 to 30, urging citizens to take precautions amid dangerously high temperatures. The intense heat is part of a broader dome of high pressure stretching from the Middle East into South Asia — a phenomenon likened by experts to a "lid trapping heat in a pot." The heatwave has contributed to soaring temperatures not only in Pakistan but also across more than 20 countries in the region. According to Maximiliano Herrera, a weather historian who tracks global extremes, Nawabshah's 2018 temperature still stands as Asia's highest for April. While a 124°F reading was once reported in Santa Rosa, Mexico in 2001, it is considered unreliable by most meteorological standards. This week, computer models — including the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) — are predicting highs near 120°F for parts of central Pakistan, particularly on Wednesday and Thursday. Since the model slightly underestimated last weekend's actual temperatures, experts say reaching or surpassing the 2018 record is within the realm of possibility. As the heat intensifies, the impact is expected to ripple across neighbouring countries. Temperatures above 110°F are forecast in nations including Iran, India, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Sudan, and the United Arab Emirates. Later in the week, the sweltering air mass is projected to shift eastward, bringing searing heat to Central Asian countries like Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. This comes as April 2025 has already seen record-shattering warmth in several regions. Iraq recently reported its highest April temperature at 115°F, while the UAE and Iran experienced similar peaks. Turkmenistan has stood out as one of the hottest places on Earth this month, with average temperatures over 7 degrees above normal. In Pakistan, April temperatures so far have been more than 4 degrees Fahrenheit above average — even before this week's peak heat. Climate experts note that this extreme heat aligns with broader trends in a warming world. The first three months of 2025 were the second warmest on record globally, following a record-setting 2024. Despite the emergence of a La Niña pattern earlier this year — which traditionally brings cooler conditions — global temperatures have remained high, defying historical norms. With the summer season fast approaching in the Northern Hemisphere, scientists warn that such heatwaves will become more frequent and intense unless global emissions are curbed.
Al Etihad
15-04-2025
- Climate
- Al Etihad
March 2025 warmest on record in Europe
15 Apr 2025 12:20 BRUSSELS (AGENCIES) March 2025 was the warmest March ever recorded in Europe and the second warmest globally, according to the latest monthly bulletin from the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).March 2025 had an average ERA5 surface air temperature of 14.06°C, 0.65°C above the 1991-2020 average for March 2025, most of southern Europe saw wetter-than-average conditions, in particular over the Iberian Peninsula, which was hit by a series of severe weather events and saw widespread floods. Further wetter-than-average regions include Norway, parts of Iceland and north-western Russia."March 2025 was the warmest March for Europe, highlighting once again how temperatures are continuing to break records," said Samantha Burgess, Strategic Lead for Climate at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. A notable exception to these widespread warm conditions was the Iberian Peninsula, with cooler-than-average temperatures, as well as northern the average surface air temperature for March 2025 was 14.06 °C – which is 0.65 °C above the 1991-2020 average for March, and only 0.08 °C below the warmest March on record (which was last year).The month of March also saw the second-warmest global sea surface temperature outside the polar regions at 20.93°C. The highest was recorded in March last year, at 21.05°C. Arctic sea ice reached its lowest monthly extent for March in the 47-year satellite record, at 6% below average. This marks the fourth consecutive month in which the sea ice extent has set a record low for the time of year.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Climate watchdog reports warmest March on record in Europe, second warmest globally
April 8 (UPI) -- Europe recorded its warmest-ever March with an average land temperature of 6.03 degrees Celsius, 2.41 degrees Celsius higher than the 1991-2020 average for the month, the European Union's climate monitor said Tuesday. Temperatures were above average across the bulk of the continent with eastern Europe and southwest Russia experiencing the warmest temperatures while the coldest occurred in Spain where the temperature was below average, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service's monthly bulletin. The next warmest March on record for Europe was in 2014 with an average temperature of 5.77 degrees Celsius. "March 2025 was the warmest March for Europe highlighting once again how temperatures are continuing to break records. It was also a month with contrasting rainfall extremes across Europe with many areas experiencing their driest March on record and others their wettest March on record for at least the past 47 years," said Samantha Burgess, Strategic Lead for Climate at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. Precipitation-wise, wetter-than-average conditions were recorded across much of southern Europe notably in Spain, which in addition to unseasonably cool temperatures, was pummeled by a series of storms and experienced widespread flooding. Norway, Iceland and north-western Russia were also wetter than average for the month. By contrast, a broad swathe of Europe extending from Ireland and the United Kingdom in the northwest and arcing over central Europe and the Black Sea down to Greece and Turkey in the southeast experienced drier-than-average conditions over the month. Globally, March was the second-warmest month with an average surface air temperature of 14.06 degrees Celsius, 0.65 degrees Celsius above the 1991-2020 average and 1.6 degrees Celsius above the average temperature in the "pre-industrial era," which the service defines as 1850-1900. The United States, Mexico, parts of Asia, and Australia saw above-average temperatures but they were most pronounced over extensive areas of the Arctic, especially the Canadian Archipelago and Baffin Bay with Arctic sea ice posting its lowest extent for March -- down by an average 6% -- in the 47-years satellite have been tracking it. With Arctic sea ice also topping out at the farthest extent of its limit for the year in March, instead of later in the season, it also set a new record low for the maximum extent of its reach. Northern Canada, Hudson Bay, and eastern Russia, including the Kamchatka Peninsula, posted temperatures that were the furthest below average. Much of North America, southwestern, central and easternmost Asia, southwestern Australia, parts of southern Africa and southeastern South America experienced a drier than average March while eastern Canada, the western United States, the Middle East, much of Russia, parts of central Asia, southeastern Africa and northeastern Australia had a wetter than average month. In January, the climate watchdog of the 27-member country economic and political bloc reported that the average global surface temperature for 2024 exceeded the 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels threshold set by the Paris Agreement for the first time and was the warmest year on record. The scientists linked the jump to the 15.1 degrees Celsius average temperature recorded over the 12 months to Dec. 31 from the 13.5 degrees Celsius average estimated in the 1850-1900 period to more dangerous heat waves, wildfires, flooding and increasingly ferocious storms.
Local Italy
08-04-2025
- Science
- Local Italy
Europe has just had its hottest ever March, scientists confirm
March in Europe was 0.26C (0.47F) above the previous hottest record for the month set in 2014, Copernicus said. It was also "a month with contrasting rainfall extremes" across the continent, said Samantha Burgess of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, which runs the Copernicus climate monitor. Some parts of Europe experienced their "driest March on record and others their wettest" for about half a century, Burgess said. The monitor also reported that global temperatures hovered at historic highs in March, prolonging an extraordinary heat streak that has tested scientific expectations. Scientists say the current period is likely the warmest the Earth has been for the last 125,000 years. The world saw the second-hottest March in the Copernicus dataset, sustaining a near-unbroken spell of record or near-record-breaking temperatures that has persisted since July 2023. Since then, virtually every month has been at least 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) hotter than it was before the industrial revolution when humanity began burning massive amounts of coal, oil and gas. March was 1.6C (2.9F) above pre-industrial times, prolonging an anomaly so extreme that scientists are still trying to fully explain it. "That we're still at 1.6C above preindustrial is indeed remarkable," said Friederike Otto of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment at Imperial College London. "We're very firmly in the grip of human-caused climate change," she told AFP. Contrasting extremes Scientists warn that every fraction of a degree of global warming increases the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events such as heatwaves, heavy rainfall and droughts. Climate change is not just about rising temperatures but the knock-on effect of all that extra heat being trapped in the atmosphere and seas by greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane. Warmer seas mean higher evaporation and greater moisture in the atmosphere, causing heavier deluges and feeding energy into cyclones, but also affecting global rainfall patterns. Elsewhere in March, scientists said that climate change intensified an extreme heatwave across Central Asia and fuelled conditions for extreme rainfall which killed 16 people in Argentina. Persistent heat The spectacular surge in global heat pushed 2023 and then 2024 to become the hottest years on record. Last year was also the first full calendar year to exceed 1.5C: the safer warming limit agreed by most nations under the Paris climate accord. This represented a temporary, not permanent breach, of this longer-term target, but scientists have warned that the goal of keeping temperatures below that threshold is slipping further out of reach. Scientists had expected that the extraordinary heat spell would subside after a warming El Nino event peaked in early 2024, and conditions gradually shifted to a cooling La Nina phase. But global temperatures have remained stubbornly high, sparking debate among scientists about what other factors could be driving warming to the top end of expectations. The European Union monitor uses billions of measurements from satellites, ships, aircraft and weather stations to aid its climate calculations. Its records go back to 1940, but other sources of climate data -- such as ice cores, tree rings and coral skeletons -- allow scientists to expand their conclusions using evidence from much further in the past.
