In 2021, the global average temperature was more than a degree above the pre -industrial level - just like in the six years before. This reported the world weather organization (WMO) on Wednesday in Geneva. The seven years since 2015 are the hottest that have been recorded since the start of the recordings more than 100 years ago. Since the 1980s, every decade has been warmer than the previous one.
The global average temperature in 2021 was about 1.11 (± 0.13) degrees Celsius above the level of 1850 to 1900. This is the result of a combination of data from six leading institutions. These include the US climate agency NOAA and the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service. NOAA had ranked 2021 as the sixth warmest year, Copernicus as the fifth warmest.
The previous record year was around 1.2 degrees above the pre -industrial level in 2016, closely followed from 2019 and 2020. The WMO emphasizes that the differences between the individual years are sometimes so low that an exact ranking could hardly be determined.
"The consequences of climate change and weather-related hazards have had life-changing and devastating consequences for people on every continent," said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas. He recalled the record temperatures of almost 50 degrees in Canada, deadly floods in Asia and Europe, and droughts in Africa and South America.
The high average temperature in 2021 was reached, although the year was characterized by a continued La-Niña position. This weather phenomenon occurs every few years presses the global average temperature, because the upper layers of water of the tropical Eastern Pacific are cool down.
