THE last seven years have been the hottest on record globally "by a clear margin", the European Union's climate monitoring service reported, as it raised the alarm over sharp increases in record concentrations of methane in the atmosphere.
Countries around the world have been blasted by a relentless assault of weather disasters linked to global warming in recent years, including record-shattering wildfires across Australia and Siberia, a once-in-1000-years heatwave in North America and extreme rainfall that caused massive flooding in Asia, Africa, the US and Europe.
In its latest annual assessment, the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) confirmed that 2021 had joined the unbroken warm streak since 2015.
It found that last year was the fifth warmest on record globally, marginally warmer than 2015 and 2018. Accurate measurements go back to the mid-19th century.
The annual average temperature was 1.1 to 1.2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, measured between 1850 and 1900, C3S said.
That was despite the cooling effect of the natural La Nina weather phenomenon.
Overall, the monitoring service found the last seven years "have been the warmest years on record by a clear margin".
"2021 was yet another year of extreme temperatures with the hottest summer in Europe, heatwaves in the Mediterranean, not to mention the unprecedented high temperatures in North America," said C3S Director Carlo Buontempo.
"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."
- Methane surge -
The C3S also monitored atmospheric concentrations of the planet-warming gases carbon dioxide and methane, finding that both had increased with no sign of a slowdown.
Methane particularly has gone up "very substantially", to an annual record of about 1,876 parts per billion (ppb).
Growth rates for 2020 and 2021 were 14.6 ppb per year and 16.3 ppb per year, respectively. That is more than double the average annual growth rate seen over the previous 17 years.
But an array of human-caused and natural sources made it hard to pinpoint why there had been such a strong increase in recent years, C3S said.
Methane (CH4) is the gas most responsible for global warming after CO2. While more short-lived in the atmosphere, it is many times more potent than CO2.
Natural sources include wetlands, while human-induced sources are leaks from natural gas and oil production, coal mining and landfills, as well as rice paddies, livestock and manure handling.
Vincent-Henri Peuch, Director of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, which tracks greenhouse gas increases, said observational evidence was crucial in the effort to avoid "climate catastrophe".
Reducing the amount of methane seeping into the air would quickly translate into a slowdown of rising temperatures, and help close the so-called emissions gap between the Paris Agreement target of a 1.5C cap on warming and the 2.7C we are heading for even if all nations honour their carbon-cutting promises.
That has spurred interest from policymakers keen to find the quickest ways to wrestle down emissions.
At the COP26 climate summit last year, around a hundred nations joined an initiative to cut methane emissions by at least 30 percent this decade. Noticeably absent was China.
The oil and gas industry has the biggest potential for rapid reductions, especially through the detection and repair of gas leaks during production and transport.
While global warming may seem gradual, its impact on extreme events is "dramatic", said Rowan Sutton, of Britain's National Centre for Atmospheric Science at Reading University.
"We should see the record breaking 2021 events, such as the heatwave in Canada and floods in Germany, as a punch in the face to make politicians and public alike wake up to the urgency of the climate emergency," he told the Science Media Centre.
"Moreover, the continued increases in greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere screams out that the underlying causes have yet to be addressed."
ETX Studio
Wed Jan 12 2022
![Last 7 years 'warmest on record' globally: EU Last 7 years 'warmest on record' globally: EU](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2022-01/71641959366_BOATS.jpg)
The last seven years have been the hottest on record globally "by a clear margin", the European Union's climate monitoring service reported. - ETX Studio
Enam MP kekal : Tak adil salahkan Speaker - Gobind
Mengenai keputusan mengekalkan enam kerusi Parlimen bekas ahli Bersatu, Gobind Singh Deo berkata tidak adil untuk salahkan Speaker buat keputusan yang diperuntukkan undang-undang.
![Tokan dadah ditahan bersama dua pucuk pistol di Alor Setar Tokan dadah ditahan bersama dua pucuk pistol di Alor Setar](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/51721123744_tokandadah.jpg)
Tokan dadah ditahan bersama dua pucuk pistol di Alor Setar
Polis menahan dua lelaki dan merampas dua pucuk pistol serta pelbagai jenis dadah dalam dua tangkapan di Taman Lam Foong, di Alor Setar.
![Tiada tempat selamat di Gaza, kata ketua PBB Tiada tempat selamat di Gaza, kata ketua PBB](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-06/51719354914_Destroyedbuildings.jpg)
Tiada tempat selamat di Gaza, kata ketua PBB
Beliau berkata tahap pertempuran dan kemusnahan yang melampau di Gaza tidak dapat difahami dan tidak boleh dimaafkan.
![Saya tidak fitnah Lim Guan Eng, cuma jelas tentang siasatan SPRM - Muhyiddin Saya tidak fitnah Lim Guan Eng, cuma jelas tentang siasatan SPRM - Muhyiddin](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/51721121786_MuhyiddinYassin.jpg)
Saya tidak fitnah Lim Guan Eng, cuma jelas tentang siasatan SPRM - Muhyiddin
Muhyiddin memberitahu bahawa beliau tidak memfitnah Lim Guan Eng berhubung isu pengecualian cukai terhadap Yayasan Albukhary.
![Saintis kesan gen bantu rawat kanser pankreas Saintis kesan gen bantu rawat kanser pankreas](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-04/81712376317_TujuanForensik.jpg)
Saintis kesan gen bantu rawat kanser pankreas
Gen HNF4A (Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 4 Alpha) didapati akan berhenti berfungsi pada tubuh pesakit kanser pankreas.
Pantau Agenda Reformasi: Potensi dan cabaran percambahan e-Sukan di Malaysia
Pengerusi Gabungan Pelajar Melayu Semenanjung (GPMS) Negeri Selangor
merangkap Timbalan Presiden Majlis Belia Negeri Selangor
E-Sukan mampu mencetak nama Malaysia di pentas dunia. Memahami potensi, kekangan dan peranan yang perlu dimainkan semua pihak dalam melahirkan lebih ramai pemain E-Sukan yang berjaya, seterusnya menyokong pembangunan industri E-Sukan negara.
SRG cipta sejarah pasukan Malaysia pertama juarai MSC MLBB 2024
merangkap Timbalan Presiden Majlis Belia Negeri Selangor
E-Sukan mampu mencetak nama Malaysia di pentas dunia. Memahami potensi, kekangan dan peranan yang perlu dimainkan semua pihak dalam melahirkan lebih ramai pemain E-Sukan yang berjaya, seterusnya menyokong pembangunan industri E-Sukan negara.
SRG cipta sejarah pasukan Malaysia pertama juarai MSC MLBB 2024
Jualan kereta di Malaysia diunjur cecah 765,000 unit
Persatuan Automotif Malaysia (MAA) melakukan semakan semula berkaitan sasaran jumlah keseluruhan industri (TIV) kepada 765,000 unit berbanding unjuran awal 740,000 unit untuk 2024. Semakan dibuat disokong oleh persekitaran ekonomi yang positif dan jumlah tempatan tertunggak yang masih berada pada tahap yang baik
Kementerian Digital cari kaedah kurangkan kos pelaksanaan sistem e-invois
Kerajaan sedang mencari kaedah mengurangkan kos pelaksanaan sistem e-invois untuk Perusahaan Kecil dan Sederhana (PKS) selepas sistem itu diwajibkan untuk semua perniagaan pada 1 Julai 2025
Perbelanjaan pengguna dijangka meningkat tahun ini
Perbelanjaan Pengguna Malaysia dijangka meningkat sepanjang tahun ini
dengan unjuran sebanyak RM904.6 bilion, ketika proses pemulihan ekonomi menunjukkan kemajuan pada ketika ini.
dengan unjuran sebanyak RM904.6 bilion, ketika proses pemulihan ekonomi menunjukkan kemajuan pada ketika ini.
![Suspek bunuh Nur Farah Kartini dibawa ke lokasi kejadian Suspek bunuh Nur Farah Kartini dibawa ke lokasi kejadian](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/71721123609_lokasi.jpg)
Suspek bunuh Nur Farah Kartini dibawa ke lokasi kejadian
Suspek kes pembunuhan Nur Farah Kartini Abdullah dibawa ke lokasi kejadian di ladang kelapa sawit di Kampung Sri Keledang, Hulu Bernam, Selangor.