<\/p>\n
\u2022 UN urges drastic emissions cuts to combat climate change
\u2022 Guterres regrets humanity\u2019s actions are \u2018scorching the Earth\u2019<\/p>\n
GENEVA: The year of 2024 could be hotter under El Nino\u2019s influence than the record-shattering 2023, the United Nations warned on Friday, as it urged drastic emissions cuts to combat climate change.<\/p>\n
The UN\u2019s World Meteorological Organisation said new monthly temperature records were set every month between June and December, and the pattern is likely to continue due to the warming El Nino weather phenomenon.<\/p>\n
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicted there is a one in three chance that 2024 will be warmer than 2023 \u2014 and a 99 per cent certainty that 2024 will rank among the five warmest years ever.<\/p>\n
The UN\u2019s WMO weather and climate agency said July and August last year were the two hottest months ever recorded, as it officially confirmed 2023 had been the warmest year on record \u201cby a huge margin\u201d.<\/p>\n
The WMO said the 2023 annual average global temperature was 1.45 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels (1850-1900).<\/p>\n
The 2015 Paris climate accords aimed to limit global warming to well below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels \u2014 and 1.5C if possible.<\/p>\n
The WMO\u2019s new secretary-general Celeste Saulo warned that El Nino, which emerged mid-2023, is likely to turn up the heat even further in 2024.<\/p>\n
The naturally occurring climate pattern, typically associated with increased heat worldwide, usually increases global temperatures in the year after it develops.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe shift from cooling La Nina to warming El Nino by the middle of 2023 is clearly reflected in the rise in temperature,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cGiven that El Nino usually has the biggest impact on global temperatures after it peaks, 2024 could be even hotter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Humanity\u2019s \u2018biggest challenge\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n NOAA said the 2023 global surface temperature was 1.18C above the 20th-century average, and was hotter than the next warmest year, 2016, by a record-setting margin of 0.15C.<\/p>\n