El Nino sets temperature record in key Pacific zone: EU monitor

RECORD OCEAN TEMPERATURES

As El Nino gathers strength, global average sea surface temperatures hit a record 21.05°C for September, topping the previous high of 20.92°C for the same month in 2023, according to Copernicus.

Overall, the world experienced its second hottest September on record, with surface air temperatures averaging 16.27°C, the EU service said.

September was 1.63°C hotter than the pre-industrial average, a period defined as 1850-1900.

Nations agreed at the 2015 UN climate talks in Paris to keep global warming “well below” 2°C above pre-industrial levels, while pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5°C, in order to limit the effects of climate change.

But the United Nations declared in September that the long-term 1.5°C target would be missed in a matter of years.

“We are in a new run of months above 1.5°C, and with a strong El Nino still intensifying it is likely to last into 2027,” Copernicus director Carlo Buontempo said in a statement.

“Crossing the Paris Agreement’s long-term limit is only a matter of time. How far we overshoot, and for how long, is still up to us,” he said.

Scientists say it is crucial to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels to limit the period of “overshoot” above 1.5°C and bring temperatures back down as quickly as possible.

Experts have warned that this El Nino would likely push global temperatures to a new record in 2027.

El Nino warms surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, bringing worldwide changes in winds, pressure and rainfall patterns.

It typically takes place every two to seven years and lasts around nine to 12 months.