The past ten years have been decades of unprecedented record-breaking temperatures, and meteorologists said the trend is likely to continue this year. Temperature analysis in the first quarter of 2020 recorded it during the second-warmest first three months and provided a severe projection for the remaining nine months. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have calculated that 2020 is likely to be the warmest year on record since 74.67 percent. It has a 99.94 percent chance of being in the top five and a 99.99 percent chance of being in the top ten on record for most years.
These estimates are part of NOAA’s Climate State: March 2020 Global Climate Report. These are based on two main factors: the statistical distribution of month-to-month fluctuations in the historical record and how much the monthly texts differed from all previous annual average values. And March 2020 was, unfortunately, a scorer. Last month was warmer than average for most parts of the planet. In particular, the average temperature in March was at least 2.0 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) higher since the Rockies began recording in East, Central, and East Asia and South America. March’s record-breaking temperature was recorded across 42 million square kilometers (116 million square miles). This is about 8.17 percent of our planet.
January 2020 was the record-breaking of January. February was the second warmest month on record since February 2016 and the world record temperature was recorded with the warmest temperature in Antarctica. March 2016 was also the second March on record in the world. The report states: “March 2020 marks the 44th consecutive March and the 423rd consecutive month with temperatures, at least nominally, above the 20th-century average.”
The difference in global temperatures between the first three months of this year and the average of the twentieth century was quite stable, although in 2011 there was a shock due to a particularly strong El Niño. Although 2020 appears to be closely tracking 2016’s temperatures.
But while anyone is hoping that the current lockdown-induced reduction in pollution and carbon dioxide emissions will have its long-term effects, it is unlikely. This may prove to be a short break, but it is unlikely to have a long-term impact on the climate, and scientists are urging people not to forget the ongoing climate crisis that still needs to be addressed.
