New Delhi: Amid calls for climate crisis action, the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) has revealed some shocking details. Data released by the EU satellite system reveals that 2021 was the fifth warmest year, with some areas receiving record-breaking heat.
What adds to the concern is the fact that the amount of warming gases in the environment, such as carbon dioxide and methane, is just increasing.
The Copernicus Data is derived from the constellation of Sentinel Satellites that are present to monitor Earth from its orbit along with the measurements taken at the ground level.
The year 2021 was warmer than 2015 and 2018 by a little margin, making it the fifth-hottest year on record, according to the Copernicus Data. Taken together, the agency further explained, the past seven years were the hottest by a clear margin.
The annual average temperature had shifted 1.1 to 1.2 above pre-industrial levels, which were measured between 1850 and 1900, revealed C3S.
The agency also said that the beginning of the year had relatively low temperatures as compared to recent years, but from June onwards the temperatures had started to rise and the monthly temperatures were at least among the warmest four recorded. This has been the case despite the cooling effects of the La Nina.
The impact of climate change is being witnessed all over the globe with Europe experiencing its warmest summer to date. The temperature records in the western US and Canada, Africa, and the Middle East also broke by several degrees.
“These events are a stark reminder of the need to change our ways, take decisive and effective steps toward a sustainable society and work towards reducing net carbon emissions,” a BBC report quoted Carlo Buontempo, director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, as saying.
C3S further explained that the concentration of two gasses contributes to climate change, which aggravated in 2021. The carbon dioxide concentrations have reached 414.3 parts per million in 2021. But the methane concentrations increased even more to an unprecedented 1,876 parts per billion, approximately. Scientists have revealed that it is more important to reduce methane concentration in the environment as it is more potent than carbon dioxide.