March 2024 was the tenth consecutive month to break a heat record at sea. Over the last twelve months, the global temperature has been 1.58°C higher than in the pre-industrial era, exceeding the limit of 1.5°C set by the Paris agreement.
“We are extraordinarily close to this limit and we are already on borrowed time,” says Samantha Burgess, deputy head of C3S. It has now been more than a year since the temperature of the oceans, which cover 70% of the Earth, has been warmer than ever.