Blockade briefly stops Pride Parade in downtown Winnipeg
A group of protesters briefly blocked the Winnipeg Pride Parade on Sunday.
The world just experienced its hottest April on record, extending an 11-month streak in which every month set a temperature record, the European Union's climate change monitoring service said on Wednesday.
Each month since June 2023 has ranked as the planet's hottest on record, compared with the corresponding month in previous years, the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said in a monthly bulletin.
Including April, the world's average temperature was the highest on record for a 12-month period -- 1.61 C above the average in the 1850-1900 pre-industrial period.
Some of the extremes -- including months of record breaking sea surface temperatures -- have led scientists to investigate whether human activity has now triggered a tipping point in the climate system.
"I think many scientists have asked the question whether there could be a shift in the climate system," said Julien Nicolas, C3S senior climate scientist.
Greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels are the main cause of climate change. In recent months, the natural El Nino phenomenon, which warms the surface waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean, has also raised temperatures.
Scientists have already confirmed that climate change caused some specific weather extremes in April, including a heatwave in the Sahel linked to potentially thousands of deaths.
Hayley Fowler, a climate scientist at Newcastle University, said the data showed the world is perilously close to breaching the 2015 Paris Agreement's goal to cap global warming at 1.5 C.
"At what point do we declare we've lost the battle to keep temperatures below 1.5? My personal opinion is we've already lost that battle, and we really need to think very seriously about keeping below 2 C and reducing our emissions as fast as we can," she said.
Countries agreed with the 1.5 C goal at a UN climate summit in 2015. It is the level scientists say would avoid the most disastrous consequences of warming, like fatal heat, flooding and the irreversible loss of ecosystems.
Technically, the 1.5 C target has not yet been missed, as it refers to an average global temperature over decades. But some scientists have said the goal can no longer realistically be met, and have urged governments to cut CO2 emissions faster to limit overshoot of the target.
C3S' dataset goes back to 1940, which the scientists cross-checked with other data to confirm that last month was the hottest April since the pre-industrial period.
(Reporting by Kate AbnettEditing by Bill Berkrot)
A group of protesters briefly blocked the Winnipeg Pride Parade on Sunday.
People around the world are observing National Cancer Survivor Day, an annual celebration held to honour patients who have been through the often difficult and traumatic experience of living with cancer.
Research shows that art experiences, whether as a maker or a beholder, transform our biology by rewiring our brains and triggering the release of neurochemicals, hormones and endorphins.
Ryan Reynolds this week unveiled arguably the most anticipated and sure-to-be coveted merchandise tied to his upcoming 'Deadpool' sequel: the movie’s novelty popcorn bucket.
A brief break during Wednesday's city council meeting in Saskatoon nearly cost the city dearly.
During the pandemic, the Ontario government started to hand out cash to parents to help offset the cost of at-home learning while schools were shuttered.
Israel is looking into an alternative local governing body for Gaza, the defense minister said Sunday, proposing a future beyond Hamas but giving no idea who those challengers might be.
Media magnate Rupert Murdoch, 93, has married for the fifth time, his corporation, News Corp, confirmed Sunday.
South Korea said Sunday it’ll soon take retaliatory steps against North Korea over its launch of trash-carrying balloons across the border and other provocations.
Car 14 is a luxury passenger car that once made regular runs from London to Port Stanley starting in 1917.
A hefty donation by a renowned local activist to the University of Winnipeg has created what is believed to be the most comprehensive two-spirit archives in all of Canada.
Leanne Van Bergen discovered a skulk of 10 baby foxes, and two mothers, had made themselves at home on her property in Beausejour.
An 81-year-old Waterloo, Ont. woman thought she’d never ride a horse again after a brain bleed led to severe physical complications.
A CP24 camera caught the moment a driver frantically got out of her car as it was being dragged by a truck on Avenue Road Wednesday afternoon.
Prince Edward Island is celebrating its first-ever International Day of Potato on Thursday.
The president of Covered Bridge Chips in New Brunswick is hoping to have his factory rebuilt for late 2025 following a devastating fire last year.
Students and staff at Winnipeg’s Westwood Collegiate had a unique problem to solve this month; how do you lead ducks to water from the school’s courtyard when 12 of them can’t fly yet?
Debby Lorinczy remembers her father as an amazing person and as a man who also made an amazing discovery.