Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Iranian Shura Council recommends the closure of the Hormuz Strait and leaves the decision up to the Iranian National Security Council.
IRGC Commander Major General Mohammad Pakpour: As time passes, the people's solidarity increases, which is a divine blessing
IRGC Commander Major General Mohammad Pakpour: The Iranian Revolution Guard Corps' aerospace operations will not stop
Russian Foreign Ministry: IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi must ensure that an objective report is presented at the special session of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
Russian Foreign Ministry: The UN Security Council must respond to the US attacks on Iran
Russian Foreign Ministry: We strongly condemn the US strikes on Iran, calling the decision irresponsible
Iranian Red Crescent: Three personnel martyred, 29 injured in Israeli aggression
IRGC: We have identified and monitored the departure points of the US aircraft that carried out the aggression
IRGC: America has neither the initiative nor the ability to escape the consequences of a powerful response
IRGC: We strongly affirm that Iran's peaceful nuclear technology cannot be destroyed by any attack

Last seven years on Earth were the warmest

  • By Al Mayadeen Net
  • Source: Agencies
  • 10 Jan 2022 15:46
4 Min Read

Reports revealed that the last seven years on earth were the warmest, recording a 14.6 and 16.3% increase in 2020 and 2021.

  • x
  • The warmest 7 years on Earth
    Reports recorded that last year was the fifth warmest on record around the world. 

The last seven years have been the hottest on record globally "by a wide margin," according to the European Union's climate monitoring service, which also raised the alarm about sharp increases in methane concentrations in the atmosphere.

In recent years, countries around the world have been bombarded by a relentless barrage of weather disasters linked to global warming, including record-breaking wildfires in Australia and Siberia, a once-in-a-thousand-years heatwave in North America, and extreme rainfall that caused massive flooding in Asia, Africa, the United States, and Europe.

The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) confirmed in its most recent annual assessment that 2021 would join the unbroken warm streak that began in 2015.

Reports recorded that last year was the fifth warmest on record around the world, slightly warmer than 2015 and 2018. Accurate measurements can be traced back to the mid-nineteenth century.

Between 1850 and 1900, the annual average temperature was 1.1 to 1.2 degrees Celsius higher than pre-industrial levels, according to C3S, despite the natural cooling effect of the La Nina weather phenomenon.

Overall, the monitoring service discovered that the last seven years "have been by far the warmest years on record."

"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 measured atmospheric concentrations of the planet-warming gases carbon dioxide and methane and discovered that both had increased with no sign of slowing.

Related News

Sea acidity reaches critical levels, threatening entire ecosystems

Dying satellites may contribute to climate change, ozone depletion

Methane, in particular, has risen "significantly", reaching an annual high of around 1,876 parts per billion (ppb).

Growth rates for 2020 and 2021 were 14.6 and 16.3% per year, respectively. This is more than double the previous 17-year average annual growth rate.

However, a variety of human and natural causes made it difficult to pinpoint why there had been such a significant increase in recent years, according to C3S.

After CO2, methane (CH4) is the gas most responsible for global warming. While it has a shorter lifetime in the atmosphere, it is many times more powerful than CO2. 

Wetlands are natural sources, while human-induced sources include leaks from natural gas and oil production, coal mining and landfills, rice paddies, livestock, and manure handling.

Observational evidence, according to Vincent-Henri Peuch, Director of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, which tracks greenhouse gas increases, is critical in the effort to avoid "climate catastrophe". 

Can we reduce methane?

Reducing the amount of methane in the atmosphere would quickly result in a slowing of rising temperatures and contribute to closing the so-called emissions gap between the Paris Agreement target of a 1.5°C cap on warming and the 2.7°C we are heading for even if all nations keep their carbon-cutting promises.

This has piqued the interest of policymakers eager to find the quickest ways to reduce emissions.

At last year's COP26 climate summit, nearly a hundred countries pledged to reduce methane emissions by at least 30% over the next decade.

The oil and gas industry has the greatest potential for rapid reductions, owing to the detection and repair of gas leaks during production and transportation.

While global warming may appear gradual, its impact on extreme events is "dramatic", according to Rowan Sutton of the National Centre for Atmospheric Science at Reading University in the United Kingdom.

"We should see the record-breaking 2021 events, such as the heatwave in Canada and floods in Germany, like 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."

  • global warming
  • methane
  • COP26
  • European Union
STOP THE HEAT: A Climate Change Coverage

STOP THE HEAT: A Climate Change Coverage

Most Read

Iran launches 9th wave of Op. True Promise 3, destroys IOF air defense

Iran launches 9th wave of Op. True Promise 3, destroys IOF air defense

  • MENA
  • 17 Jun 2025
Rescue team work at the site where a missile launched from Iran struck Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, June 16, 2025 (AP)

Wave 12 of Operation True Promise 3 launched, Sejjil deployed: IRGC

  • Politics
  • 18 Jun 2025
Iran launches missile barrage to Tel Aviv, casualties reported

True Promise 3, wave 14: Tel Aviv targeted, casualties reported

  • Politics
  • 19 Jun 2025
Israeli workers survey the site where a missile launched from Iran struck in Haifa on Sunday, June 22, 2025. (AP)

True Promise 3, wave 20: 40 missiles launched, Kheibar-Shekan in first

  • Politics
  • Today

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
Iran UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani addresses a United Nations Security Council meeting, Friday, June 20, 2025. (AP)
Politics

Iran demands urgent UN Security Council session over US airstrikes

CIA Director John Ratcliffe, testifies before a hearing April 18, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington (AP/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
US & Canada

Trump aides pushed war on Iran with Mossad-fed intel, ignoring dissent

This photo released on Nov. 5, 2019, by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran shows centrifuge machines in the Natanz uranium enrichment facility in central Iran. (Atomic Energy Organization of Iran via AP, File)
Politics

Iran: Minor damage to nuclear sites after US attack, no radiation

The U.S. Capitol, on June 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP)
Politics

US lawmakers condemn Trump’s strikes on Iran; MAGA base frustrated

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS