The hottest September on record: "We keep accumulating records!"

INTERVIEW

The figures are very worrying.

According to the European Copernicus Climate Change Service, September 2020 was the hottest September on record in the world.

"Globally, September 2020 was 0.05 ° C above September 2019, so far the hottest on record," said the European service.

And this trend may not stop.

"We keep accumulating records", notes on Europe 1 the director of Copernicus Jean-Noël Thépaut. 

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Are these very high temperatures an exceptional event, where do they reflect a tendency that is likely to increase?

"It's hard to say," replies Jean-Noël Thépaut.

"September is a record month. We broke or tied records in January, April, May, June of this year. The last five years are the five best years. hottest on record. The last decade is the hottest decade on record, "he recalls.

"We keep accumulating records, so it is still very likely that 2020 will be an exceptional year, but not an absolute record since greenhouse gas emissions continue, so we will continue to warm the world. atmosphere".

In summer, "the trend is for the sea ice to decrease"

Copernicus also finds that the heat was greater than normal over the Arctic Ocean as a whole.

"In the Arctic, we see that the temperature is rising two to two and a half times faster than on the rest of the planet. It's a problem and we must try to understand it," explains Jean-Noël Thépaut.

In summer, "the trend is for the sea ice to decrease", he continues.

In 2020, we observed a decrease of about 40% compared to the average which is calculated between 1981 and 2010. "And the director of Copernicus warns:" It will continue.

As long as we continue to emit greenhouse gases, there is no reason for this to stop ".