February 2024 was the hottest February on record since 1940. This situation was officially reported Web site European Climate Service Copernicus (C3S).
Last month, the average global surface air temperature reached 13.54 °C. This is 0.81°C above the February 1991-2020 average and 0.12°C above the previous record set in February 2016. Sea surface temperatures in non-polar regions reached an absolute record high of 21.09 °C.
Climate scientists noted that February 2024 was the ninth consecutive warmest month on record.
While February temperatures in Europe were well above average across most of the continent, the largest temperature anomalies according to C3S were observed in Central and Eastern Europe. However, temperatures were below average in the Scandinavian countries and northwestern Russia.
The amount of sea ice in Antarctica reached an annual low in February; The monthly average was 2.4 million square kilometers, 28% below the February average from 1991 to 2020.
Arctic sea ice extent is 2% below average and not as low as in recent years, C3S said.
Previous scientists I learnedthat global warming is interfering with one of the ocean’s major biological cycles.