April 2024 sets record as hottest month ever

This unprecedented rise in temperatures has led to a series of extreme weather events across the globe, including intense heat waves, heavy rainfall, and devastating floods.

Reports show that April 2024 was 0.67 degrees Celcius above the 1991-2020 average for April and above the previous high set in April 2016. The global average temperature for the past 12 months, from May 2023 to April 2024, is now the highest ever recorded, indicating a worrying trend in global warming.

The heat has had far-reaching impacts, with numerous countries experiencing brutal heat waves that have shattered records. In Asia, nations like Bangladesh, South Korea, and parts of India recorded their hottest April, leading to school closures and government advisories urging people to stay indoors. The extreme temperatures have also been linked to at least 38 deaths in Thailand due to heatstroke.

Droughts have also wreaked havoc in regions such as Vietnam, where the deaths of hundreds of thousands of fish have been recorded. In the Philippines, the receding water levels in a reservoir have revealed the ruins of a 300-year-old town, a grave reminder of the severity of the situation

Europe, the continent warming the fastest on Earth in the face of the human-driven climate crisis, saw temperatures in April that were 1.49 degrees Celcius above the 1990-2020 average, making it the second-hottest April on record for the region. The average global sea surface temperatures outside the polar regions were also the highest in records from 1979 for the month.