Copernicus: May 2024 is the 12th consecutive month with record-high temperatures
Monthly global surface air temperature anomalies (°C) relative to 1850–1900 from January 1940 to May 2024, plotted as time series for consecutive 12-month periods spanning June to May of the following year. The last 12 months (June 2023 – May 2024) are shown with a thick red line while all other years with thin lines shaded according to the decade, from blue (1940s) to brick red (2020s). Data source: ERA5. Credit: C3S/ECMWF. ACCESS TO DATA | DOWNLOAD THE ORIGINAL IMAGE
The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), funded by the European Commission, observed that May 2024 was the warmest May on record globally, with a global average surface air temperature 0.65°C above the 1991–2020 average, marking the 12th consecutive month for which the global average temperature reaches a record value for the corresponding month, based on ERA5 data.
The 12-month streak is confirmed at the same time as the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the UK´s Meteorological Office publish their Annual to Decadal Climate Prediction Update, which synthesizes the annual to decadal predictions made by these institutions for the near future for the 2024-2028 period. This report shows, among many other findings, that it is likely that at least one of the next five years will be the warmest on record, beating 2023.
