May 2024 was warmer globally than any previous May and was the twelfth month in a row that was the warmest for the respective month of the year. While unusual, we nevertheless saw a similar streak of monthly global temperature records in 2015/2016. Last month was 1.52°C above the estimated May average for the 1850-1900 pre-industrial reference period.
Anomalies and extremes in surface air temperature for the 12-month period from June 2023 to May 2024. Colour categories refer to the percentiles of the temperature distributions for the 1991–2020 reference period. The extreme (“Coolest” and “Warmest”) categories are based on rankings for the period 1979–2024. Percentiles and rankings are relative to all 12-month averages between January 1979 and May 2024. Data source: ERA5. Credit: Copernicus Climate Change Service/ECMWF.
The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) provides climate monitoring for the globe, Europe and the Arctic; the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is the UN authoritative organization that collates, monitors and predicts weather, climate and water resources, and provides related services at national, regional and global scales through its 193 Members, the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services. This year, C3S and the WMO have released a joint report on the European State of the Climate (ESOTC) in 2023. This provides descriptions and analysis of climate conditions and variations from across the Earth system, key events and their impacts, and a discussion of climate policy and action with a focus on human health.
The global average surface air temperature in May was 15.91°C, which was 0.65°C above the 1991-2020 average for May and 0.19°C above the previous high set in May 2020. The string of record-breaking monthly temperatures is reflected in the average temperature for the past 12 months (June 2023 – May 2024), which is also the highest on record, at 0.75°C above the 1991-2020 average and 1.63°C above the pre-industrial average.
The average sea surface temperature (SST) for May 2024 over 60°S–60°N was 20.93°C, the highest value on record for the month. May was the fourteenth month in a row that the SST has been the warmest in the ERA5 data record for the respective month of the year.
Source: https://climate.copernicus.eu/sites/default/files/custom-uploads/ESOTC%202023/Summary_ESOTC2023.pdf
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