The European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service reported yesterday that this year is expected to be the second hottest year on record, likely surpassed only by 2024, which set a new temperature record. These are the latest data released by the service following the UN Climate Change Conference 'COP30', which concluded last month without governments agreeing on new measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This reflects geopolitical tension amid a retreat by the United States from its efforts and some countries seeking to undermine carbon dioxide emission reduction measures. In its monthly bulletin, the service stated that it is highly likely that this year will complete the first three-year period during which the global average temperature will exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels of 1850-1900, when humans began burning fossil fuels on an industrial scale. Extreme weather events continued to sweep regions of the world this year. Last month, Typhoon Calamogi claimed the lives of more than 200 people in the Philippines, Spain suffered its worst forest fires in three decades, and last year was the hottest year on Earth.
