Last seven years hottest on record: Copernicus report
Madrid, Apr 22 (EFE).- The last seven years have been the warmest on record as global temperatures have risen significantly since the pre-industrial era, said a new report released Friday, coinciding with Earth Day.
The Copernicus Climate Change Service released its annual European State of the Climate report warning of climate change threats and new weather extremes.
It is the fifth edition of the annual report, implemented by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) on behalf of the European Commission.
Although the European State of the Climate 2021 report focuses on Europe and the Arctic, its global data indicates that the sea level continued to rise last year.
Since 1993, the level has increased by about nine centimeters.
The concentration of greenhouse gases (GHG), which cause global warming, was the highest in at least 2 million years, with carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations at around 2.3 parts per million (ppm) and methane at 16.5 parts per billion (ppb).
The last seven years have been the warmest since records began in 1850, Copernicus report said, but 2021 was one of the cooler of them.
The average sea surface temperature in 2021 was the sixth or seventh warmest since 1850.
The scientists say land and sea surface temperatures have increased compared to pre-industrial levels.
Surface air temperature rose between 1.1 and 1.2 degrees Celsius.
Moreover, the La Niña ocean current at the beginning and end of the year caused global SSTs in 2021 to be colder than in recent years.
It had an impact on both land and sea surface air temperatures.
The latest data consolidated until the 2020 end shows that the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets continue to lose mass.
The Arctic recorded the fourth-highest amount of carbon emissions, with wildfires mostly from eastern Siberia contributing to the fourth-highest amount of emissions in the region.
Arctic temperatures were less extreme than in 2020, but large parts of Siberia saw cooler-than-average temperatures earlier in that year.
The Arctic region received smoke during prolonged periods due to massive wildfires in subarctic Siberia.
Arctic sea ice extent remained below average throughout the year despite, during summer and autumn, being well above the record low levels witnessed in previous years.
The findings of the report are based on satellite and on-site data.
It has contributions from international climate science experts, including Copernicus’ partners and European meteorological agencies.
The head of the Earth Observation Unit, Mauro Facchini, told reporters that the service monitors climate events and then uses the data to interpret the current situation and set strategies for the future.
