The winter of 2023-2024 was unusually sparse in snow, ice and cold, and scientists know the reason why: it was the hottest winter on record. Month-to-month temperatures have been getting broken so consistently over the past few months that the media has started referring to the 2023-2024 winter as the "lost winter." Indeed, a number of scientists suggested that this so-called "lost winter" may not be at all unusual in the future if humans do not address climate change.
In fact, hotter temperatures all year long can be expected, as indicated in an official statement by professor Adam Scaife, Head of Long Range Prediction at the Met Office, who said, “2024 is the first calendar year where there is a significant chance of breaching the 1.5° C level, but whether this happens will depend on the balance between the extra warmth from the current El Niño and whether we get a decrease later in 2024 from La Niña.”
