Warmest January on record occurred in 2024

Context: January was the hottest month ever recorded, which is a clear sign that Climate Change is getting worse.

Key aspects:

• According to a report by the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, January 2024 is the warmest January ever recorded.
• This continues a trend of each month since June being the hottest on record compared to previous years.
• The report also highlights that the world has experienced a 12-month period with temperatures more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
• It emphasises the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to prevent further temperature increases.
• American scientists have also predicted that there is a one-in-three chance that 2024 will be even hotter than last year and a 99% likelihood of it being one of the top five warmest years.

Development of climate change over time:

• India experienced alternating wet and dry periods throughout its history. Archaeological evidence suggests that around 8,000 B.C., the Rajasthan desert had a wet and cool climate.
• From 3,000-1,700 B.C., there was increased rainfall in the region, which coincided with the rise of the Harappan civilization.
• However, since then, dry conditions have become more prevalent.
• The earth was warmer between 500–300 million years ago within the Cambrian, Ordovician and Silurian occasions.
• Throughout the Pleistocene period there were ice ages as well as times when conditions warmed within the last couple of glacial cycles 18,00 years ago.
• About 10,000 years ago the current interglacial era started.
• Over the past few years, adverse weather changes have been on serious records.
• The 1990s was the hottest period ever in history, followed by serious floods almost everywhere.
• The area of the Sahel region suffered from a catastrophic drought in 1967-1977.
• More to that, the dust bowl plagued the southwestern Great Plains of America during the 1930s which was in severe drought.

Reasons behind climate change:

• Causes of climate change are many and astronomical factors such as sunspot activities, volcanism alongside terrestrial reasons which include releases from greenhouse gas emissions pollution plus aerosols.
• Sunspots are dark areas that occur on the sun which vary depending on cycles and weather patterns.
• The rising number of sunspots say about cooler and wetter weather, on the other hand decreasing volume gives a hint regarding warmer conditions, getting drier.
• Volcanic eruption is also another factor responsible for causing climate change since it releases aerosols to the air and this reduces sunlight at earth surface.
• On the other hand, greenhouse gases concentrations are going to increase dramatically; mainly human beings will be blamed as causing warming of the globe.

Conclusion: 

• The consequences of climate change will worsen significantly, leading to more frequent and intense droughts, heatwaves, and rainfall.
• To avoid this, immediate action needs to be taken, such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which has been neglected up to this point.

Source: India Today

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