Wed 05 July 2023:
Data from the US National Centers for Environmental Prediction show that Monday was the hottest day ever observed on Earth, Reuters reported.
As heatwaves scorched the globe, the average worldwide temperature rose to 17.01C (62.62F), breaking the previous record of 16.92C (62.46F) set in August 2016.
The southern US has been suffering under an intense heat dome in recent weeks. In China, an enduring heatwave continued with temperatures above 35C (95F). North Africa has seen temperatures near 50C (122F).
Even Antarctica, currently in its winter, registered anomalously high temperatures. Ukraine’s Vernadsky Research Base in the white continent’s Argentine Islands recently broke its July temperature record with 8.7C (47.6F).
“This is not a milestone we should be celebrating,” said climate scientist Friederike Otto of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment at Imperial College London.
“It’s a death sentence for people and ecosystems.”
Scientists said climate change combined with an emerging El Nino pattern was to blame.
“Unfortunately, it promises to only be the first in a series of new records set this year as increasing emissions of [carbon dioxide] and greenhouse gasses coupled with a growing El Nino event push temperatures to new highs,” said Zeke Hausfather, a research scientist at Berkeley Earth.
El Niño usually brings more flooding in the south of the US, the south of South America, the Horn of Africa and central Asia, while severe heatwaves and droughts often strike eastern Australia, Indonesia, south Asia and Central America.
“The onset of El Niño will greatly increase the likelihood of breaking temperature records and triggering more extreme heat in many parts of the world and in the ocean,” said Petteri Taalas, the UN’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO), secretary-general. “The declaration by WMO is the signal to governments around the world to mobilise preparations. Early warnings and anticipatory action of extreme weather events associated with this major climate phenomenon are vital to save lives and livelihoods.”
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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