Human activities are accelerating global warming at unprecedented rates, leading to a temperature rise of 1.19 degrees Celsius between 2014 and 2023, according to new research by over 50 leading international scientists. This marks an increase from the 1.14 degrees Celsius observed between 2013 and 2022, as revealed by the second annual Indicators of Global Climate Change report, spearheaded by the University of Leeds, UK.
The study highlights that global warming induced by human actions is progressing at 0.26 degrees Celsius per decade, the fastest rate since record-keeping began. “Our analysis shows that the level of global warming caused by human action has continued to increase over the past year, even though climate action has slowed the rise in greenhouse gas emissions,” stated Professor Piers Forster, Director of the Priestley Centre for Climate Futures at the University of Leeds. “Global temperatures are still heading in the wrong direction and faster than ever before,” he added.
Published in the journal Earth System Science Data, the report attributes the accelerating rate of warming to consistently high greenhouse gas emissions, equivalent to 53 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year. These emissions are significantly impacting the Earth’s energy balance, with ocean buoys and satellites detecting heat flows into the Earth’s oceans, ice caps, soils, and atmosphere at levels 50 percent higher than the long-term average.
“Fossil fuel emissions are around 70 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions and clearly the main driver of climate change, but other sources of pollution from cement production, farming, and deforestation, as well as cuts to sulphur emissions, are also contributing to warming,” Forster explained.
The report also notes that 2023 was the hottest year on record, a result influenced by natural climate variability, particularly El Niño. Researchers warn that around 200 gigatonnes (billion tonnes), or about five years’ worth of current emissions, remain before reaching the critical threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
These findings underscore the urgent need for intensified global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the accelerating impacts of climate change.