Climate Change: NASA scientists have announced that May 2024 was the hottest May on record, marking an unprecedented full year of record-high monthly temperatures globally, as portions of India continue to reel from the extreme heatwave that began last month. The average global temperature over the previous 12 months has reached record highs for every month, according to researchers from NASA‘s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS). This is an unmatched trend
Recognition of Climate Crisis by NASA Administrator Bill Nelson
“It’s clear we are facing a climate crisis,” stated NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “Communities across America — like Arizona, California, Nevada — and communities across the globe are feeling first-hand extreme heat in unprecedented numbers. NASA and the Biden-Harris Administration recognise the urgency of protecting our home planet. We are providing critical climate data to better lives and livelihoods, and benefit all humanity,” it added.
This series of record highs is consistent with a long-term warming trend mostly brought on by greenhouse gas emissions generated by human activity. The last ten years have been the warmest since record-keeping began in the late 19th century, demonstrating the trend that has become apparent during the last forty years. The longest record monthly temperature streak prior to this 12-month run spanned seven months in 2015 and 2016.
Impact of Increasing Heat on Global Conditions
“We’re experiencing more hot days, more hot months, more hot years,” said Kate Calvin, NASA’s chief scientist and senior climate advisor. “We know that these increases in temperature are driven by our greenhouse gas emissions and are impacting people and ecosystems around the world,” he added.
A temperature baseline in NASA’s analysis is defined over a period of several decades, usually 30 years. Over the previous 12 months, the average worldwide temperature was 2.34 degrees Fahrenheit (1.30 degrees Celsius) higher than the baseline for the 20th century (1951 to 1980). This is little higher than the late 19th-century average of 2.69 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 degrees Celsius).
Data Collection Methods for Global Temperature Assessment
To determine the Earth’s global temperature, NASA scientists collect data from tens of thousands of land-based meteorological stations as well as from devices aboard ships and buoys. Techniques that take into consideration the effects of urban heating and the different spacing between temperature stations are used to examine this raw data.
The tropical Pacific Ocean’s natural oscillations, such as El Niño and La Nina, can affect the variability of world temperatures from year to year. The severe heat of last year’s summer and fall was partly caused by the powerful El Niño that started in April 2023. In May 2024, NOAA predicted that there would be a 49% possibility of a La Nina forming in June through August and a 69% likelihood in July through September. This year’s average world temperatures may be somewhat suppressed by a La Niña event, which would chill the tropical Pacific.
Impact of Southwest Monsoon in Maharashtra
Large portions of Maharashtra were blanketed by a slow-moving southwest monsoon on Wednesday, as the region waited for new energy to spread throughout central and northern India, which was still struggling with extreme heat. On Wednesday, heatwave conditions were reported in various regions of north Rajasthan, some areas of Himachal Pradesh, south Bihar, north Odisha, and isolated pockets of Gangetic West Bengal. Heatwave conditions were also reported in most of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand.
In few isolated areas of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Jharkhand, and Gangetic West Bengal, severe heatwave conditions were also reported. In several areas of west Jharkhand, south Uttar Pradesh, Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi, Punjab, and north Rajasthan, the highest recorded temperatures were between 45 and 47 degrees Celsius.