Climate change update: ClimateTracer of the University of Graz provides reliable data

The ClimateTracer provides climate monitoring information for the entire planet as well as specifically for Europe and Austria. Photo: Anton Balazh - stock.adobe.com

Yesterday, the Copernicus Climate Change Service of the European Union published its data on global warming up to end of November 2024. These confirm that this year will see the 1.5 °C threshold clearly exceeded for the first time. The Wegener Center at the University of Graz already computed an accurate full-year prediction: the global near-surface air temperature in 2024 will rise by 1.62 °C – plus/minus 0.05 °C standard deviation – compared to the pre-industrial level. Such latest predictions for 2024 and other essential data on climate change are provided by the scientists via the Graz Climate Change Indicators (GCCI) portal.

The GCCI portal, also known as "ClimateTracer", provides reliable information on greenhouse gas emissions and global warming over the recent decades and includes outlooks to future developments, based on the best available international and in-house data sources. "The global temperature increase of 1.6 °C is a drastic warning signal," says Gottfried Kirchengast, climate researcher at the University of Graz and head of the GCCI research & development. "Even though especially the climate anomaly El Niño contributed to the temperature increase this year, the majority of around 1.4 °C is long-term and clearly caused by us humans," the scientist adds. “The fact that our global emissions are still somewhat rising rather than falling will also drive this long-term warming beyond 1.5 °C in a few years.”

Unique data portal
Browsing the "ClimateTracer" enables to see, for example, how emissions, greenhouse gas concentrations, the heat content increase in the atmosphere and oceans, and the global temperature rise are interrelated. From 2025, data on weather and climate extremes will also be added. No other portal offers this kind of joint overview in such high quality. "We provide reliable monitoring information – from 1960 to the present, and including future projections up to 2050," explains Moritz Pichler, who is responsible for the data processing in the GCCI team. The charts inform about developments worldwide, in Europe and specifically also in Austria. Among other uses, they are intended to serve as a knowledge basis and motivation for climate action by decision-makers in policy and business domains.

"To limit the increasingly catastrophic climate impacts, we must more than halve the emissions by 2035 in line with the Paris climate goals," Kirchengast warns. This requires Paris-compliant climate action management at all levels, from countries via companies to individual persons, and a climate-friendly approach in all production and consumption activities in the economy and society.

>> Climate Change Portal GCCI – ClimateTracer

The research is part of the Field of Excellence "Climate Change" at the University of Graz.

Gudrun Pichler

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