Global Heating Amplified By El Niño, Burning Fossil Fuels May Push Temperatures To As Much As 1.7C Above Average In 2024, Experts Say

Experts said that global heating amplified by the El Niño phenomenon as well as burning of fossil fuels could push the temperatures to as much as 1.7C.

According to James Hansen, former NASA scientist who was known for alerting the world to the dangers of climate change in the 1980s, global heating, caused by the burning of fossil fuels and the El Niño climatic event, would push temperatures to as much as 1.7C (3F) above the average experienced before industrialization in May.

Faster Acceleration Of Global Heat

Experts said the 1.5C ceiling cannot be considered breached until a string of several years exceed this limit. They noted that the circumstance is considered to happen most likely at some point in the 2030s.

Hansen explained that the heating of the world from greenhouse gas emissions is being reinforced by impacts, such as the melting of the planet's ice. He added that this makes the surface darker and therefore absorbing even more sunlight.

Hansen further said that "the 1.5C global warming ceiling has been passed for all practical purposes because the large planetary energy imbalance assures that global temperature is heading still higher.''

To recall, Hansen earlier said that global heating is accelerating faster than is currently understood and will result in a key temperature threshold being breached. He explained that the planet's climate is more sensitive to human-caused changes than scientists have realized until now.

This means that a "dangerous" burst of heating is expected to be unleashed, which will later push the world to be 1.5C hotter than it was, on average, in pre-industrial times within the 2020s and 2C hotter by 2050.

Experts said that climate change is characterized by delayed response and amplifying feedbacks.

They said that delayed response makes human-made climate forcing a threat to today's public and future generations because of the practical difficulty of reversing the forcing once consequences become apparent.

Feedbacks determine climate sensitivity to any applied forcing. Scientists have found out that Earth's climate is very sensitive-more sensitive than the best estimate of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)-which implies that there is a great amount of climate change in the pipeline.

They stressed that extraordinary actions are needed to reduce the net human-made climate forcing as is required to reduce global warming and avoid highly undesirable consequences for humanity and nature.

2023 Hottest Year

Officials previously said that the global temperature in 2023 would be more than 1.4 degrees Celsius warmer compared to pre-industrial levels.

Due to this, the year 2023 was seen to be the hottest year on record.

The figure was close to the 1.5-degree threshold in the Paris climate agreement, and this was beyond which scientists say humans and ecosystems will struggle to adapt.

Researchers have said 2023's exceptional warmth is the result of the combined effects of the El Niño phenomenon as well as the human-caused climate change.

So far, a series of deadly heat waves and remarkable record-breaking temperatures have hit several continents this year, while the unprecedented ocean heat blanketed much of the globe.