The hottest January on record was experienced by the planet, data released by the EU’s climate change agency Copernicus (C3S) has shown.

The figures are causing intense concern among scientists working on the climate crisis, as they find that the series of extremely high temperatures in the region continue.

Last month surpassed the previous warmest January on record, that of 2020, according to C3S records dating back to 1950.

Hottest year in 2023

This January’s record-breaking heat comes after 2023 was ranked as the hottest year the planet has ever experienced, based on global records dating back to 1850, as human-induced climate change and the El Niño weather phenomenon, which warms the water surface in the eastern Pacific Ocean, pushed temperatures up.

Every month of last year since June has been the warmest on record, compared to the same months in previous years.

“Not only was January the hottest January on record, but we just experienced a 12-month period of more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial reference period,” noted C3S deputy director Samantha Burgess.

“Rapidly reducing emissions of greenhouse gases is the only way to stop global temperatures from rising,” she noted.

2024 has a one in three chance of being even warmer than 2023

According to scientists in the US, 2024 has a one in three chance of being even warmer than last year, and a 99% chance of ranking in the top five warmest years.

The El Niño phenomenon began weakening last month and scientists have pointed out that it may change to its cooler counterpart, La Niña, later this year.

However, average global sea surface temperatures last month were the highest of any January to date for which data are available.

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In the 2015 Paris Agreement, countries agreed to make efforts to prevent global warming from exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius to avoid more severe and irreversible consequences.

Although the 1.5°C limit has been exceeded for a period of 12 months, the world has not yet exceeded the target set by the Paris Agreement, which refers to an average global temperature for decades.

Some scientists have said that this target is no longer realistically achievable, but have called on governments to act more quickly to reduce CO2 emissions to limit its exceedance – and the deadly heat, drought and sea-level rise it will cause for people and ecosystems – as much as possible