Hanoi:Carlo Buontempo, Director of the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), has issued a warning that global temperatures are likely to stay above 1.5°C over pre-industrial levels through to 2027. This prediction comes amid intensifying El Niño conditions and significant heatwaves.
According to Emirates News Agency, The service reported that September 2026 was the second-warmest September ever recorded globally, with an average surface air temperature of 16.27°C. This marks the second consecutive month where global temperatures have exceeded 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
In western Europe, September was the joint-warmest on record, and it was the third-warmest for Europe overall. Prolonged dry conditions have resulted in record-low river flows in parts of the Rhine, Danube, Vistula, and Garonne-Dordogne, affecting navigation, water supply, and agriculture. Additionally, Antarctic sea ice extent reached its third-lowest annual winter maximum.
Buontempo emphasized that surpassing the Paris Agreement's long-term limit of 1.5°C is inevitable. However, the extent and duration of this overshoot are contingent on human actions. The Paris Agreement, adopted by 195 parties in 2015, aims to maintain global warming well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels while striving to limit it to 1.5°C.