Daily Climate News - March 29
real-time temperature tracking; reducing oil & gas emissions;
Real-time global temperatures and trends
The surface air temperature at a location is measured at 2 metres above the ground - about the level of your fingertips if you stood up and stretched your hands over your head. The following graph shows average, near real-time surface air temperatures from across the globe in 2024 (dark red line), 2023 (orange line) and from 1991-2020 (grey lines).
On March 28 2024, the global average was 14.45℃ - about 0.24℃ higher than the temperature on the same day in 2023 (14.21℃). This was also 0.69℃ higher than the average for the same day (March 28) in the 30 years from 1991-2020. The greatest difference from the 30-year average was observed on February 9, 2024 and November 18, 2023 at 1.1℃.
The graph come from an interactive web application launched by Europe’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, which is using hourly estimates of global temperatures provided by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). The application also shows geographical variation in temperature rise above the 30-year average. The US East Coast, Canada, Russia, Central Asia, and Antarctica had a much hotter than average 2023.
The graphs above use historical data, not forecasts.
Another tool by Copernicus, the Interactive Climate Atlas, helps visualise temperature forecasts in different regions under several global warming scenarios. The Arctic region (North Pole) is predicted to see significant warming. The image below shows yearly forecasts for Eastern regions of North America. Most models predict the region to have temperatures 2℃ higher than pre-industrial levels (1850-1900) by 2030.
Climate Pulse | Interactive Climate Atlas User Guide | Copernicus Interactive Climate Atlas | The Guardian
Controlling emissions from Oil & Gas operations
Oil & gas operators often opt to burn the natural gas associated with oil drilling operations - a phenomenon called “flaring”. The IEA estimates that nearly 140 billion cubic metres of gas is flared (essentially wasted) globally every year - more than twice UK’s natural gas demand in 2023.
UK’s North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) has published a new plan to reduce emissions from flaring & venting at oil & gas facilities. 4 approaches are suggested:
electrify operations and use low-carbon power where possible
improve process operations
use emissions reduction technology such as carbon capture and storage
measure emissions from new and planned projects
The plan also includes monitoring high-emissions assets and considering closing them in favour of cleaner installations.
USA passed a related decision earlier this week.
Offshore Energy | NSTA Press Release | NSTA - OGA Plan (PDF)
Top Stories
The European Commission has approve a €900 million French scheme to support the production of
(i) heat and fuels from biomass, such as synthetic gas and biochar, for use in industrial processes, and
(ii) liquid fuels from biomass and renewable hydrogen, for use in industrial processes and transport.
The scheme will be disbursed as a direct grant to cover investment costs both for new projects as well as those ready for scale-up. The projects will need to be completed and put into operation with 36 months from grant of aid.
India is planning to send 2 delegations to Chile to scout for Lithium and Copper sources. Earlier this year, Khanij Bidesh Limited (KABIL), a joint venture company between 3 Indian government enterprises, entered into an agreement with Argentina’s state-owned CAMYEN SE for exploration and exclusivity rights for 5 Lithium blocks. ET Energy | KABIL
The Open Hydrogen Initiative, developed by GTI Energy and S&P Global Commodity Insights, has released a first version of its open-source toolkit for “measuring the carbon intensity of hydrogen production at the facility level.”
The scope of this toolkit begins with primary energy exploration through transportation & refinement of primary energy, ending at the point of hydrogen production at the plant gate with a standardized functional unit of hydrogen. The work streams covered in this toolkit include natural gas supply, biomass & RNG supply, power generation, gasification, gas conversion, electrolysis, and carbon management. The OHI LCA Toolkit consists of over 60 energy systems, over 200 technologies, and over 270 regions and countries around the world.
A District Court in the state of Texas (USA) has vacated a Department of Transportation ruling on setting state-level emissions targets for road transport, claiming an administrative agency cannot bypass Congress to impose GHG reporting requirements on states. 25 states are already following the rule opposed by the state of Texas. In a related case, several Republican states are fighting SEC’s recent ruling on Scope 1 and 2 disclosures for listed firms. Smart Cities Dive | Order (PDF)
Very interesting read on Ukraine’s research base in Antarctica
You can read over 130 stories from March 29 on Telborg.
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Let me know if I can help with anything! Enjoy your day!
Best,
Soumya Gupta
Founder, Telborg.com | SummaryWithAI.com
