The world has just experienced its second hottest May on record, as climate change and the development of the El Niño weather phenomenon contributed to rising average land and sea temperatures, the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) reported on Wednesday, UNN writes with reference to Reuters.
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The hottest May on record occurred in 2024, according to data dating back to 1940.
The average global temperature last month was 1.42 degrees Celsius higher than the pre-industrial average of the 19th century.
Western Europe experienced one of the most intense heatwaves ever recorded so early in the year.
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C3S states that the extreme heat in Europe was consistent with scientists' expectations of how climate change would affect the world's fastest-warming continent.
Parts of the Pacific Ocean saw unusually high temperatures as they transition toward El Niño conditions.
Among last month's extreme weather events were deadly floods in China and Turkey.
The El Niño weather pattern is expected to form in the coming months and contribute to extreme weather conditions worldwide.
El Niño occurs naturally every two to seven years when weakening trade winds lead to warming waters in the eastern Pacific. The result is typically an increase in global temperatures and a disruption of rainfall patterns, meaning drought in some regions and heavy rains in others.
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