Last month was the warmest September on record – globally

According to EU climate monitors, the Earth’s surface was warmer last month than in any other September since temperature measurements began.

In the twelve-month period leading up to and including September, our planet was almost 1.3 degrees warmer than the pre-industrial level, according to the EU’s climate monitoring service Copernicus.

In 2020, three months of record heat have been registered – January, May, and September.

In the Paris Agreement of 2015, the world’s countries committed to trying to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees.

“There was little difference between 2020 and 2016 until now,” Copernicus researcher Freja Vambourg told the news agency AFP.

Very high temperatures

So far, the temperature increase has been 1%, which is believed to be enough for heatwaves, droughts, and tropical storms to become more intense.

A total of 19 out of the last 20 years have been the warmest since the late 19th century when accurate surveys began. 

According to EU data, since the late 1970s, the Earth’s average temperature has risen by 0.2 degrees every decade.

In September, temperatures were “exceptionally high” in northern Siberia and most of the Arctic Circle. 

September was also scorching in the Middle East, with very high temperatures in Turkey, Israel, and Jordan.

Little ice in the Arctic

In parts of North Africa and Tibet, temperatures were also abnormally high, while 49 degrees were measured in Los Angeles, USA, in early September. 

As September drew to a close, five of the six largest fires recorded in California were still burning.

The ice in the Arctic shrank to its second-lowest level in September – below four million square kilometers. 

This is only the second time it has been so small since satellite recordings began in 1978. 

The ice floats on the sea. Therefore, it doesn’t contribute to the rise in sea levels when it melts.

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today