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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/jul/23/world-temperature-records-shattered-hottest-day-climate-crisis>
"World temperature records were shattered on Sunday on what may be the hottest
day scientists have ever logged, data suggests.
Inflamed by the carbon pollution spewed from burning fossils and farming
livestock, the average surface air temperature hit 17.09C (62.76F) on Sunday,
according to preliminary data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service, which
holds data that stretches back to 1940. The reading inched above the previous
record of 17.08C (62.74F) set on 6 July last year, but the scientists cautioned
that the difference was not statistically distinguishable.
“What is truly staggering is how large the difference is between the
temperature of the last 13 months and the previous temperature records,” said
the Copernicus director, Carlo Buontempo. “We are now in truly uncharted
territory – and as the climate keeps warming, we are bound to see new records
being broken in future months and years.”
The finding comes as large parts of the world roast in punishing heat. Hot
weather fuels crackling wildfires that burn homes to a crisp, and triggers
silent waves of mass mortality that spill through hospital wards and retirement
homes.
Zeke Hausfather, a climate scientist who works on the Berkeley Earth data
project, said the record was “certainly a worrying sign” on the back of 13
record-setting months and that it should show up in datasets from other
research groups. “It also makes it even more likely that 2024 will beat 2023 as
the warmest year on record.”
The rapid baking of the planet is expected to slow later this year, at least
briefly, if a powerful weather pattern shifts from its neutral state into a
cooler phase known as La Niña. But the underlying trend of global heating will
persist as long as people pump gases into the atmosphere that act like a
greenhouse.
Prof Peter Thorne, director of the Icarus centre at Maynooth University,
Ireland, and a coauthor of an IPCC report that found humanity was responsible
for all of the observed rise in temperatures since the 1850s, said Sunday’s
record might one day be seen as “anomalously cool” if the world did not rapidly
reach net zero emissions.
“Just a quick glance at the range of events happening around the globe right
now – wildfires, flooding, heatwaves – tells us that we are not remotely
prepared for the extremes that this warmer world has bought us,” he said. “We
are even less prepared for what is to come.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
