Newsletter Issue 45 (July 2024)

The Weather of June 2024 – A hot and cloudier June

June 2024 was characterised by generally cloudier and showery weather during the first half of the month. With the subtropical ridge over the western North Pacific extending westwards and covering southeastern China, local weather became generally fine with high temperatures in the second half of the month, including nine consecutive very hot days from 20 to 28 June, one of the longest on record for June. Overall, the month was cloudier than usual.

June 2024 marks 12th month of global temperatures at 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels

For the globe as a whole, beyond the record streak of 12 months above pre-industrial levels, it was the warmest June in the ERA5 record and the 13th month in a row that was the warmest in the ERA5 record for the respective month of the year. Although this is unusual, a similar series of monthly global temperature records was seen in 2015–2016. The average sea surface temperature (SST) over 60°S–60°N for June was also the highest on record for the month.

13 consecutive months of record-warm global temperatures and the second-lowest June Antarctic sea ice extent

Temperatures were above average over much of the globe with Africa, Asia and South America having their warmest June on record. Sea surface temperatures were record warm for the 15th consecutive month. Northern Hemisphere snow cover extent and global sea ice extent were both below average. Global tropical cyclone activity was below average, with only two named storms.

Keep 1.5° Alive

WMO has hosted a debate on “Keeping 1.5° Alive” – one of a series of events organized by the UN Development Programme to mobilise greater commitment to the Paris Agreement and influence more ambitious climate action policies. The campaign is a follow up to the launch of UNDP’s Climate Promise action plan for 2025/2030. A massive public opinion survey, Peoples’ Climate Vote 2024, shows 80 percent – or four out of five – people globally want their governments to take stronger action to tackle the climate crisis.

Scientists find climate change is messing with time more than previously thought

The impacts of human-caused climate change are so overwhelming they’re actually messing with time, according to new research. Polar ice melt caused by global warming is changing the speed of Earth’s rotation and increasing the length of each day, in a trend set to accelerate over this century as humans continue to pump out planet-heating pollution, according to the study published on 15 July in PNAS.

Modern hurricanes are rewriting the rules of extreme storms

The behaviour of the world’s most powerful storms is evolving. To adapt to more destructive hurricanes, we need to know how they’re changing. Fuelled by heat from ocean waters, hurricanes are sometimes known as nature’s steam engines. As they barrel over the oceans, they turn its heat into brutal kinetic energy that flattens islands and inundates coastal cities. Ocean temperatures are now breaking all records, and these “engines” are responding, cutting different paths across the ocean, slowing down, and becoming less predictable and more dangerous.

Blue Book on Climate Change of China 2024 unveiled

On July 4, Blue Book on Climate Change of China 2024 was unveiled, which focused on the latest monitoring information on the state of climate change in China and globally from the perspectiveof atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, biosphere and climate change drivers. The regional average temperature in Asia in 2023 is 0.92°C above the normal figure, the second highest since 1901 and the annual average surface temperature in China in 2023 was 0.84°C above the normal figure, the warmest year since 1901.

China’s Practice in Early Warnings

In implementing Early Warnings for All initiative proposed by the United Nations, China is propelling capacity building, improving relevant mechanisms, reinforcing cooperation with WMO and other related departments, and sharing expertise and cases to the international community.

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