2024 begins with more heat records around the world. January was the eighth consecutive month in which global temperatures surpassed previous records.
The burning of fossil fuels, deforestation and other human activities have caused temperatures to rise steadily for more than a century. The current El Niño weather cycle is also allowing more ocean heat to be released into the atmosphere. "Rapidly reducing greenhouse gas emissions is the only way to stop the planet's temperature from rising," says Samantha Burgess, deputy director of Copernicus.