Brussels: The world experienced its second-warmest May on record this year, with climate change contributing to a significant heatwave in Greenland, as reported by the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) on Wednesday. This past May was noted as the second-warmest in recorded history, only surpassed by May 2024, marking the northern hemisphere's second-hottest March-May spring on record.
According to Emirates News Agency, global surface temperatures in May averaged 1.4 degrees Celsius higher than those recorded during the 1850-1900 pre-industrial period, a time when large-scale industrial burning of fossil fuels began. This recent data ended a sequence of 21 out of 22 months where the average global temperature was more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, though scientists caution that this break in the trend may not last.
C3S Director Carlo Buontempo stated, "Whilst this may offer a brief respite for the planet, we do expect the 1.5C threshold to be exceeded again in the near future due to the continued warming of the climate system." The ongoing warming trend underscores the persistent impact of climate change on global temperatures.