The year started off on our planet with a blazing pace last month, with April 2024 being the warmest April on record.
Moreover, April became the 11th consecutive month with global record temperature, as per scientists and NOAA‘s National Centres for Environmental Information, data.
The average global temperature in April was 2.38 degrees F (1.32 degrees C) above the 20th-century average of 56.7 degrees F (13.7 degrees C), making it the warmest April in the global climate record. April 2024 also marked the 11th-consecutive month of record-high global temperatures.
Regionally, South America had its warmest April on record, and Europe had its second warmest. Meanwhile, much of Australia, Scandinavia and northwest Russia were cooler than average.
2024 has a 61% chance of being the warmest year on record and a 100% chance of ranking among the top five warmest years ever, according to NCEI’s Global Annual Temperature Rankings Outlook.
Earth’s sea ice coverage was low at both poles: Globally, April 2024 saw the 10th-smallest April sea ice extent (coverage) in the 46-year record. Arctic sea ice extent was 80,000 square miles below average, while Antarctic sea ice came in at 290,000 square miles below average.
