May 2025 second warmest on record: EU climate monitor

Global heating continued as the new norm with last month the second warmest May on record on land and in the oceans according to the European Unions climate monitoring serviceThe planets average surface temperature dipped below the threshold of 15 degree Celsius above preindustrial levels just shy of the record for May set last year according to the Copernicus Climate Change ServiceThe same held for the worlds oceans With a surface temperature of 2079C last month was second only to May 2024 with some unprecedented warmth regionallyLarge areas in the northeast North Atlantic which experienced a marine heatwave had record surface temperatures for the month Copernicus reported Most of the Mediterranean Sea was much warmer than averageThe increasingly dire state of the oceans is frontandcentre at the third UN Ocean Conference UNOC which kicked off Monday in Nice FranceOcean heatwaves are driving marine species to migrate damaging ecosystems and reducing the ability of ocean layers to mix thus hindering the distribution of nutrientsCovering 70 percent of the globes surface oceans redistribute heat and play a crucial role in regulating Earths climateSurface water warmed by climate change drive increasingly powerful storms causing new levels of destruction and flooding in their wakeSome parts of Europe meanwhile experienced their lowest levels of precipitation and soil moisture since at least 1979 Copernicus notedBritain has been in the grips of its most intense drought in decades with Denmark and the Netherlands also suffering from a lack of rain Brief respite Earths surface last month was 14C above the preindustrial benchmark defined as the average temperature from 1850 to 1900 before the massive use of fossil fuels caused the climate to dramatically warmMay 2025 interrupts an unprecedentedly long sequence of months above 15C noted Carlo Buontempo director of the Copernicus Climate Change ServiceAll but one of the previous 22 months crossed this critical threshold which marks the 2015 Paris Agreements most ambitious target for capping global warmingThis may offer a brief respite for the planet but we expect the 15C threshold to be exceeded again in the near future due to the continued warming of the climate system he addedOver the 12month period June 2024 to May 2025 warming averaged 157C compared to the 18501900 benchmarkThe Paris treaty target however is pegged to a 20year average in order to account for the influence of natural variabilityThe UNs climate science advisory panel the IPCC has said theres a 50percent chance of breaching the 15C barrier in line with these criteria between 2030 and 2035Using this method of calculation the world today has warmed by at least 13CThe UNs World Metereological Organization WMO meanwhile has said theres a 70 percent chance the fiveyear period 20252029 on average will exceed the 15C limitScientists stress the importance of limiting global warming as soon and as much as possible because every fraction of a degree increases the risks of more deadly and destructive impacts on land and in the seaLimiting warming to 15C rather than 2C would significantly reduce the most catastrophic consequences the IPCC concluded in a major report in 2018This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever