Temperatures hit new record levels, 2024 is expected to be the hottest year ever

The world is experiencing unprecedented temperature spikes as it reaches record levels, amid escalating warnings from scientists and climate policymakers about the increasing likelihood of planet Earth surpassing the 1.5 °C target set by the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.

This followed the summer of 2023, which was the hottest on record globally, with many countries such as Europe and the United Kingdom experiencing severe and unprecedented heatwaves that lasted long periods during the summer, causing an increase in the spread of wildfires in many regions, resulting in significant economic and human losses.

However, summer 2024 appears to be the most extreme of last year's counterparts. This has been announced by many international climate organizations. Most notably the European Union's Climate Change Watch, which said last month was the hottest June on record. The Year of the Year ", which promotes a series of exceptional temperatures that could make 2024 the hottest year on record

The European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Agency also said in a monthly bulletin that every month since June 2023, 13 months in a row, has been classified as the hottest since records began, compared to the same month in previous years.

The latest scientific data show that 2024 could exceed 2023 to become the hottest year on record since temperature recording began. In the last 12 months, the average global temperature was the highest ever, with 1.64 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial average temperatures (1850-1900), according to Copernicus Climate Change.

Egypt was not immune from climate changes, which clearly affected the country. In the past decade, rainfall rates have declined, droughts have increased and temperatures have risen by 0.38 degrees Celsius, while the global rate has been 0.31 degrees Celsius over the past two decades.

As for this year's temperatures, they continued to rise until the beginning of the spring and summer, with the past two months of May and June experiencing unusual heatwaves lasting five days continuously.

Temperatures in Aswan also exceeded the 50 °C barrier in early June 2024, and these waves continued until the end of the month, indicating a hot and humid summer with temperatures ranging from 43 to 49 °C in most of Egypt's cities.

This record temperature rise is due to the impact of human activities causing climate change, as well as the El Niño climate phenomenon, which has resulted in unprecedented levels of heat so far, according to some scientists.

Serious and tangible climate changes have imposed themselves as one of the most prominent issues on the international agenda due to their high economic cost, amounting to billions of dollars a year, and reports suggest that the situation could worsen.

According to Swiss Re's warnings, the global economy could lose as much as 18% of gross product by 2050 if no action is taken to reduce the effects of climate change, and if some action is taken, losses could fall to between 11 and 14%, and to 4% if the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement are met.

The Institute's statistics show that Europe could lose about 11% of its GDP and the United States, 10%, while the Middle East and Africa economies will incur 27.6% Asia's economies will suffer a 26.5% decline in their GDP. While China could lose about 24% of its GDP in the most extreme scenario s development ", highlighting the urgent need to develop rapid and sustainable solutions to reduce these negative impacts.