Last seven years 'warmest on record' globally

A householder attempts to extinguish a forest fire approaching the village of Pefki on Evia island, Greece last August. Picture: Getty

The previous seven years were the hottest on record by a clear distance, with carbon and methane emissions driving the rise.

That is according to a report from the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service, which said global concentrations of carbon dioxide, and especially methane, continued to increase.

"Within these seven years, 2021 ranks among the cooler years, alongside 2015 and 2018. 

Meanwhile, Europe experienced its warmest summer on record, though close to previous warmest summers in 2010 and 2018," it said.

The first few months of 2021 were cooler than previous years, but temperatures really ramped up from early summer onwards, the Copernicus service said.

"Globally, the first five months of the year experienced relatively low temperatures compared to the recent very warm years. From June until October. However, monthly temperatures were consistently at least amongst the fourth warmest on record.

The 10 warmest years for Europe have all occurred since 2000, with the seven warmest years being 2014 to 2020, it said.

"The last months of winter and the whole of spring were generally close to or below the 1991-2020 average over Europe. A cold phase in April, after a relatively warm March, caused late-season frost in the western parts of the continent. 

"Conversely, the 2021 European summer was the warmest on record, though close to previous warmest summers in 2010 and 2018. June and July were both the second warmest of their respective months, while August was close to average overall, but saw a large split between above-average temperatures in the south and below-average temperatures in the north."

Methane has become a conundrum for Irish political leaders, with scientists saying it is a real driver of the country's emissions, but politicians reluctant to take action that would alienate rural voters. 

Beef and dairy cattle are among the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, with cows mainly generating methane through digestion and waste.

Talks of a cut to the size of the herd have been met with fierce resistance from farming lobbyists, while government figures have shied away from the politically-charged talk of doing so.

The Copernicus findings on methane correlate with the latest figures from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which show methane reached their highest in almost 40 years of records last September.

UCC lecturer in sustainable energy and energy systems modelling, and a former modeller and analyst at the International Energy Agency, Hannah Daly, told the Irish Examinerthat methane is a turbocharged greenhouse gas and emissions from human activities have already caused the Earth to warm by half a degree. 

"Methane’s concentration in the atmosphere is now two-and-a-half times greater than it would be, and globally, emissions arise mainly from agriculture, waste, and fossil fuel extraction. In Ireland, high levels of methane is emitted from beef and dairy production, and emissions grew by nearly one fifth since 2010. 

"The consensus from scientists in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is that all sources of greenhouse gases must fall immediately and sharply to limit dangerous climate change."