January 2020 warmest month on record: European Union Climate Service

January 2020 was the warmest month on record globally, especially for Europe with temperatures settling at three notches above the average January from 1981 to 2010, according to the European Union's climate monitoring system on February 4. Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) reported that several countries stretching from Norway to Russia, had their temperatures settling at an unprecedented 6C which is above average compared to the last 30 years. 

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Temperatures triggered by El Nino

Scientists said that the rise in temperatures is mainly due to the impact of climate change which is caused mainly by the burning of fossil fuels. The last five years have been the hottest on records as was the 10 year period 2010-2019. 2019 was the second warmest year which was just 0.04 degree C below 2016, when global temperatures were triggered by a powerful El Nino, which is a periodic natural weather phenomenon over the Pacific Ocean. 

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Europe 0.2 C warmer: C3S

The previous month, the global record stood at 0.03 degree C above the preceding warmest January. C3S reported last month that Europe was about 0.2 degree  C warmer than the previous warmest January in 2007, and 3.1 degree C warmer than the average January in the period from 1981-2010.

The records also fell down in specific locations across the northern reaches of the continent. Sunndalsora, a village in western Norway hit 19 degree C (66 Fahrenheit) on January 2 which is more than 25 degree C above the monthly average, and on the other hand, the Swedish town of Orebro saw its warmest January day on the 9th since records began in 1858.

The cross country ski tracks were closed across Norway and Sweden. Exceptional above-average temperatures extended nearly all over Russia and they were higher than normal over much of the United States, eastern Canada, Japan and parts of eastern China. The temperatures soared above normal in New South Wales in Australia, where massive bushfires devastated a large scale of areas. 

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(With Agency Inputs)