24/7 Space News
CLIMATE SCIENCE
Global warming accelerating at 'unprecedented' pace: study
Global warming accelerating at 'unprecedented' pace: study
By Linda GIVETASH, Julien MIVIELLE
Paris (AFP) June 4, 2024

Global warming has accelerated at an "unprecedented" pace as the window to limit rising temperatures within internationally-set targets closes, over 50 leading scientists warned in a study published on Wednesday.

Looking at decade averages, temperatures climbed 0.26 degrees Celsius from 2014 to 2023, said the study published in the journal Earth System Science Data.

In that same period, average global surface temperatures reached 1.19C above the 1850-1900 pre-industrial benchmark for measuring a warming world.

It marks an increase from the 1.14C reported last year for the decade up to 2022.

"Human-induced warming has been increasing at a rate that is unprecedented in the instrumental record," the study said.

The study is part of a series of periodic climate assessments designed to fill the gap between UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports that have been released on average every six years since 1988.

It came as diplomats from around the world were meeting in Germany this week for midyear climate talks ahead of the UN COP29 summit in November in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The 2015 Paris Agreement that resulted from a previous COP summit saw countries agree to cap global warming at "well below" 2C above preindustrial levels, while striving for the safer limit of 1.5C.

Wednesday's report found that, by the end of 2023, human activity had pushed temperatures 1.31C above the preindustrial level.

Earth warmed a total of 1.43C with other naturally-occuring drivers -- including the El Nino weather phenomenon -- taken into account.

- Carbon budget spent -

Another factor contributing to the heat is the decline in certain polluting particles in the atmosphere that reflect some of the Sun's energy back into space, the study found.

"The main reason is cleaning up of air pollution, first in Europe and the US (acid rain) and more recently in Asia, particularly China," Glen Peters of Norway's CICERO Center for International Climate Research told AFP.

Tightening of global shipping regulations and the decline of coal-fired energy have also contributed to a drop in sulphur dioxide emissions, which also had a cooling effect.

But by far the primary driver of global warming was "greenhouse gas emissions being at an all-time high", the study said.

Average annual emissions for the 2013-2022 period were 53 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide and the equivalent in other gases -- primarily from the use of fossil fuels like oil and gas, the report said.

In 2022, emissions amounted to 55 billion tonnes.

It means that the world's carbon budget -- the estimated amount of greenhouse gases that can to be emitted before driving the planet over the 1.5C threshold -- is "shrinking fast", the study warned.

In 2020, the IPCC calculated the remaining carbon budget in the range of 500 billion tonnes of CO2.

By early 2024, the budget had decreased to around 200 billion tonnes, the study said.

The report's lead author Piers Forster said there is a "bit of optimism" at least in one finding.

The rate at which emissions have grown in the most recent decade appears to have slowed since 2000, which he said signals "we're not necessarily going to get a big, increasing acceleration of climate change".

However, co-author Pierre Friedlingstein, told a press briefing that the slowing is not enough to avoid climate change.

"We don't need emissions to be stable. We need emissions to go down to net zero," Friedlingstein said.

"As long as emissions continue at the same level, the warming will continue at the same level."

Without significant change in emissions, the 1.5C threshold would be breached and become a "long-term average" within the next decade, he added.

Related Links
Climate Science News - Modeling, Mitigation Adaptation

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
CLIMATE SCIENCE
Fed up with inaction, Germany's climate activists contest EU elections
Berlin (AFP) June 2, 2024
German activist Lina Eichler regularly used to stick her hands to roads to block traffic in protest at what she saw as inaction in combating the climate crisis. Now the 21-year-old can be found sticking up posters in Berlin as her environmental group Letzte Generation (Last Generation) vies for votes at the forthcoming EU elections. The climate activists - known for controversial protests ranging from throwing mashed potato at paintings to storming airports - are moving into mainstream politic ... read more

CLIMATE SCIENCE
Cargo Ship Departs, Two Rockets Near Launch During Busy Day on Station

Russian Progress 88 cargo spacecraft launched to ISS

MDA Space Partners with Starlab Space in Commercial Space Station Venture

French, Belgian astronauts named next Europeans to fly to ISS

CLIMATE SCIENCE
YPSat Prepared for Ariane 6 Inaugural Flight

Ariane 6 to Launch SIDLOC Experiment for Space Safety

INNOSPACE to Launch Brazilian Satellites and Inertial System on HANBIT-Nano Rocket

German company HyImpulse plans additional South Australia launches

CLIMATE SCIENCE
Martian meteorites offer insights into Red Planet's structure

South Korea targets Mars mission with new space centre

Western geologists test instrument for Mars rover mission in search for life

RNA study reveals potential for life in Mars' extreme environments

CLIMATE SCIENCE
Shenzhou 18 crew conducts first spacewalk

Zebrafish on China's space station reported to be in good condition

China sends experimental satellite into orbit with Long March 4C rocket

International Support for China's Chang'e-6 Lunar Mission

CLIMATE SCIENCE
Starling spacecraft swarm completes primary mission

Sidus Space AI Platform Achieves First Data Transmission from LizzieSat-1

Wallaroo.AI Joins US Space Force SDA TAP Lab Apollo Accelerator Program

Innovative Startups Join South Australia's Space Ecosystem

CLIMATE SCIENCE
European Team Validates Flow Models in Zero Gravity

What is the European sovereign cloud?

Australian rare earths firm says data leaked day after Chinese investors blocked

First metal 3D printing performed on ISS

CLIMATE SCIENCE
Giant viruses discovered on Greenland ice sheet

NASA selects industry proposals to advance technologies for Habitable Worlds Observatory

Starless and forever alone: more 'rogue' planets discovered

Astronomers Discover 15 New Exoplanets and Measure Mass of 126 Others

CLIMATE SCIENCE
New Earth-Based Telescope Images of Jupiter's Moon Io Match Spacecraft Quality

Peering into Pluto's hidden ocean

Probing for Rocks in an Ice Giant's Core

NASA's Juno captures detailed images of Europa's surface

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.