The average global temperature reached a new heat record above 17 degrees Celsius on Thursday, according to data from the Climate Reanalyzer at the University of Maine in the United States.
According to the source, who relies on satellite data and computer simulations to make the readings, the global average temperature on Thursday was 17.23 degrees Celsius.
Thursday’s average surpassed Tuesday’s mark of 17.18, which was matched on Wednesday. On Monday, the recorded average was 17.01, according to unofficial data.
The U.S. Agency for the Atmosphere and Oceans (NOAA, for its acronym in English) issued a warning on Thursday about the information released by the University of Maine, saying it could not confirm the data that came in part from computer simulations.
“While NOAA cannot validate the methodology or conclusion of the University of Maine analysis, we recognize that we are in a warm period due to climate change,” NOAA said.
Still, the Maine data is widely regarded as a worrying sign of climate change around the world. Some climate scientists this week said they weren’t surprised by the unofficial data.
Robert Watson, a scientist and former chair of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, said governments and the private sector are “not really committed to tackling climate change.”
Scientists have been warning for months that 2023 could see record heat as human-induced climate change, largely driven by the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas and oil, warms the atmosphere.
These observations are likely a harbinger of what is to come with the so-called El Niño phenomenon – generally associated with a rise in global temperatures – supplemented by the effects of climate warming caused by human activity.
Guterres says temperature records show “climate change out of control.”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Thursday that the “situation we are witnessing is a demonstration that climate change is out of control,” commenting on the new global temperature records.
At a press conference at United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York, Guterres said that if humanity “persist on delaying key necessary measures” at the climate level, it will face “a catastrophic situation, as evidenced by the last two temperature records.”
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned that temperatures will continue to rise after breaking the record for the hottest on record last June.
“The exceptional warming in June and early July occurred as the El Niño phenomenon began to develop, which is expected to increase heat both on Earth and in the oceans and lead to more extreme temperatures and marine heat waves,” says Chris Hewitt, Director of Climate Services at WMO, the scientific body of the United Nations.
Last June, temperatures were 0.5 degrees above the average between 1991 and 2020, surpassing the monthly average temperature record for the same month in 2019, according to data from Europe’s “Copernicus” system.
On the other hand, and according to preliminary data, the global average daily temperature reached 16.88 degrees Celsius last Monday, July 3, surpassing the previous record of 16.80 degrees in August 2016.
“The whole ocean is getting warmer”
Chris Hewitt stated “more records can be expected as El Niño progresses and its impacts extend into 2024”, which he deemed “worrying news for the planet”.
The WMO has pointed out that global comparisons of daily temperatures are only possible through reanalyses (combinations of satellite simulations and computer models), while this United Nations agency uses a combination of reanalyses of a set of data based on observations from land-based stations and on ships.
The scientist responsible for the WMO explained that sea surface temperatures also broke records in May and June and that this phenomenon will have an impact on fish distribution and ocean circulation in general.
“It’s not just about the surface. The whole ocean is warming and absorbing energy that will stay there for hundreds of years. The alarms are sounding very loud because of the unprecedented temperatures in the North Atlantic,” he warned.
According to the same expert, heat waves have recently been observed in the Atlantic Ocean, particularly in parts of the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Baltic Sea.
Source: DN
