Cayman Islands endured hot, dry October

(CNS): Temperatures climbed on all three Cayman Islands during October, making it the tenth month in a row in which temperature records exceeded the average. Cayman Brac had the hottest temperature, which rose to 93°F on the fifth of the month, exceeding the average 30-year temperature for October by 2.5°F. It was also unusually dry, as rainfall fell short of annual averages.

The Brac had just 4.5 inches of rain compared to the average for October of 7.68 inches. On Grand Cayman, the mercury climbed to 91.6°F on the 13th compared to its average of 90.7°F. The rain was below average at 8.9 inches compared to the average of 9.6 inches.

The latest statistics from the Cayman Islands Weather Service come as scientists have stated that 2024 is almost certain to be the hottest year on record. According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the year is on track to break last year’s record following an extended streak of exceptionally high monthly global mean temperatures.

Since 2015, the planet has seen the warmest ten years on record. The WMO State of the Climate 2024 Update issued a Red Alert at the sheer pace of climate change in a single generation, turbo-charged by ever-increasing greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere.

The loss of ice from glaciers, sea-level rise, and ocean heating are accelerating and extreme weather is wreaking havoc on communities and economies worldwide.

The January – September 2024 global mean surface air temperature was 1.54°C (with a margin of uncertainty of ±0.13°C) above the pre-industrial average, boosted by a warming El Niño event, according to an analysis of six international datasets used by WMO.

“Climate catastrophe is hammering health, widening inequalities, harming sustainable development, and rocking the foundations of peace. The vulnerable are hardest hit,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

The report was issued on the first day of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan. It highlights that the ambitions of the Paris Agreement are in great peril.

“As monthly and annual warming temporarily surpass 1.5°C, it is important to emphasize that this does NOT mean that we have failed to meet the Paris Agreement goal to keep the long-term global average surface temperature increase to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit the warming to 1.5°C,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.

“Recorded global temperature anomalies at daily, monthly and annual timescales are prone to large variations, partly because of natural phenomena such as El Niño and La Niña. They should not be equated to the long-term temperature goal set in the Paris Agreement, which refers to global temperature levels sustained as an average over decades,” she said.

“However, it is essential to recognize that every fraction of a degree of warming matters. Whether it is at a level below or above 1.5°C of warming, every additional increment of global warming increases climate extremes, impacts and risks,” added Saulo.

“The record-breaking rainfall and flooding, rapidly intensifying tropical cyclones, deadly heat, relentless drought and raging wildfires that we have seen in different parts of the world this year are, unfortunately, our new reality and a foretaste of our future,” she said

“We urgently need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and strengthen our monitoring and understanding of our changing climate. We need to step up support for climate change adaptation through climate information services and Early Warnings for All.”