Paris: The EU’s climate monitor reported on Thursday that global temperatures were trapped at near-record highs in April, prolonging an unheard-of heat wave and posing concerns about how rapidly the planet may be warming.
Temperatures have stubbornly stayed at record or near-record levels well into this year, despite expectations that the extreme heat spell would end when warmer El Nino conditions subsided last year.
“And then comes 2025, when we should be settling back, and instead we are remaining at this accelerated step-change in warming,” stated Johan Rockstrom, who is the director of the Institute for Climate Impact Research in Stockholm.
And it looks like we’re stuck there. Although the cause and explanation of this are still being worked out, it’s a highly concerning indication.
