2021 was Earth's fifth-warmest year on record, planet's temperature continues jump: Report

New information from the European Union's satellite system reveals that the previous seven years have been considered to be the hottest on record, as planet Earth's temperature continues its worrisome increase due to the heat-trapping fossil fuel emissions. According to the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) of the European Union, which measures worldwide temperature and other climate factors, 2021 was the fifth warmest year on record. 

Despite the fact that 2021 was among the cooler years of the previous seven, but which has been slightly warmer than 2015 and 2018, Europe nonetheless had recorded its hottest summer, as per the research released on Monday. The warmest years on record are still 2020 and 2016, Independent reported.  

During the early months of 2021, La Nina conditions, which is a climatic phenomenon that creates cooler waters in the Pacific Ocean, have contributed to the lower average temperature. Globally, the yearly average temperature was 1.1-1.2 degrees Celsius higher than it was at the start of the industrial period in the mid-19th century.  

Impacts of climate change in different areas of the world

Furthermore, the negative impacts of increasing temperatures could be seen in a number of extreme climate events that have occurred throughout the world during the last year. Central Europe was hit hard by severe heatwave events and floods in summer 2021, with Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands being particularly hit hard. During a lengthy heatwave in Greece, Spain, as well as Italy, a temperature of Sicily was recorded 48.8°C, shattering the European mark by 0.8°C. 

The extreme heat and dry conditions formed a raging inferno, resulting in enormous wildfires over the eastern and central Mediterranean, wreaking havoc in Turkey, Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Albania, North Macedonia, Algeria, as well as Tunisia. The overall yearly temperature in Europe was outside the top 10 highest on record, but the summertime was the hottest, BBC reported.  

In addition to this, in 2021, large temperature abnormalities occurred in areas of North America, leading to the continent's hottest month of June on record. An extraordinary heatwave hit the northwest US and Canada, with peak temperature records being broken on many days in a row. 

Carlo Buontempo, the director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service stated, “These events are a stark reminder of the need to change our ways, take decisive and effective steps toward a sustainable society and work towards reducing net carbon emissions,” BBC reported.

In spite of this, scientists noted that methane concentration in the atmosphere has risen to a historic 1,876 parts per billion. Methane increase was also faster than expected in 2020, according to Copernicus, and both rates were extremely high when compared to satellite data from the previous two decades. 

Image: Unsplash