February warmest on record globally, breaking heat record for ninth month in a row
P&O Pioneer ferry crosses the Channel towards France at sunrise. Last month was the warmest February on record globally, making it the ninth month in a row with record temperatures for the time of year, scientists have said. Picture: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire
February 2024 was the warmest on record globally, according to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).
Last month was also the ninth month in a row to break previous heat records.
Scientists say the month was 1.77C warmer than an estimate of the February average for 1850-1900, the designated pre-industrial reference period.
It had an average surface air temperature of 13.54C which was 0.81C above the 1991-2020 average, and was also 0.12C above the temperature of the previous warmest February back in 2016.
According to C3S scientists, the global average temperature for the past twelve months is also the highest on record, with the planet breaking heat records each month since last June.
It has pushed past the internationally agreed warming threshold for a 12-month period with temperatures from March 2023 to February 2024 now running 1.56C above the pre-industrial average.
In 2015, the landmark Paris Agreement set a 1.5C rise in global temperatures compared to 1850-1900 as the limit to avoid the very worst fallout from climate change.
Commenting on the new findings, C3S Director, Carlo Buontempo, said: “February joins the “long streak of records” of the last few months.
“As remarkable as this might appear, it is not really surprising as the continuous warming of the climate system inevitably leads to new temperature extremes.
The latest report also indicates that the daily global average temperature was exceptionally high during the fist half of the month.
It reached 2C above the 1850-1900 levels on four consecutive days, from February 8 to 11.
European temperatures in February were also 3.30C above the 1991-2020 average. Most of these temperatures were experienced in central and eastern Europe.
Meanwhile, outside of Europe, temperatures were above average over northern Siberia, central and northwest North America, the majority of South America, across Africa, and in western Australia.
The findings also show that global sea surface temperatures (SST) are at a record high.
In February, the average SST was 21.06C - the highest for any month in the dataset according to C3S scientists.
August 2023 held the previous record at 20.98C.
Elsewhere, the Boreal winter consisting of December 2023, January 2024, and February 2024, was the warmest globally at 0.78C above the 1991-2020 average.
The European winter temperature was the second warmest on record after the winter of 2019/2020, at 1.44C above the 1991-2020 average.
February was also wetter than average in Europe in a large band from the Iberian Peninsula to western Russia, and over the UK and Ireland, southern Scandinavia, and the Alps.
In a separate update, Met Éireann reported earlier this week that the winter of 2023/2024 was the 11th consecutive season with above average temperatures in Ireland.
Mean temperatures ranged from 5.5C at Knock Airport in Co Mayo, to 8.5C at Sherkin Island in Co Cork — 1.4C and 0.8C respectively above their long-term average (LTA).
Dublin Airport also recorded its warmest winter since 1992 with a mean temperature of 6.6C — that is 1.2C above its LTA.
According to Met Éireann’s provisional weather statement, almost all rainfall totals were also above their LTA for the season.
The highest daily rainfall total was 36.4mm recorded at Johnstown Castle in Co Wexford on Thursday, February 8.
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