For the first time, global warming has exceeded 1.5oC over an entire 12 month period, according to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. This does not break the Paris Agreement 1.5oC limit – as that refers to long-term warming – but it “does bring the world closer to doing so”. It is considered by many to be a “significant milestone” that highlights the challenges of keeping the 1.5oC long-term limit in reach. The temperature rise in the past year has been influenced by El Niño, a naturally occurring global climate event that triggers warmer ocean temperatures in the tropical Pacific. According to the Climate Change Service, the global average temperature for the specific period between February 2023 and February 2024 was 1.52oC above the 1850-1900 baseline. Although currently the long-term average is “only” 1.25oC ,with carbon still emissions rising it seems likely that the 1.5oC limit will soon be breached, probably around 2030. In January this year, global temperatures hit 1.66oC above the average during pre-industrial times, and the month broke the previous record for the warmest first month of the year set in 2020. These statistics serve to show the enormity of the problem and the vital role that we all have in striving to reduce the damaging effects that our way of life have on the planet. “Every little helps”.