The past seven years have become the hottest on record

The past seven years have been the hottest on record, according to CBS. This was shown by data collected in 2021 by the European Climate Agency Copernicus. The record growth was also demonstrated by the content of greenhouse gases - methane and carbon dioxide - in the atmosphere.

An increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases could lead to maximum heating of the Earth's atmosphere. However, this did not happen - 2021 was only the fifth in the ranking of the hottest in the entire history of observations. The cooling effect was exerted by La Niña, a climatic phenomenon associated with the rise to the surface of the cold waters of the Pacific Ocean.

Extreme weather conditions that hit the world were also indicative of the ongoing climate crisis. Europe experienced the hottest summer on record. In Sicily, the record for the highest temperature was broken - 48.8 ° C. Forest fires raged in Italy, Greece, Turkey. In Germany and Belgium, there were devastating floods.

The extreme heat wave has triggered a heatwave in the western United States and Canada. Temperature records were broken by 5 ° C, and the Dixie Wildfire in California was the second largest in history.

The China Meteorological Agency recently announced that 2021 was the hottest year in the country's history, and the wettest in the north. In July, Henan was hit by a flood that resulted in hundreds of deaths.

The average CO2 level in 2021 reached a new record of 414 ppm. Before the industrial revolution and large-scale burning of fossil fuels, this level was 280 ppm. The growth rate of CO2 emissions remained the same as in 2010, despite all the pandemic restrictions.

The growth rate of methane emissions in 2021 also accelerated. Now they are about three times higher than 10 years ago. Scientists do not fully understand the reasons for this acceleration: methane is released from the exploitation of fossil fuels, cattle farming and natural processes in wetlands.