Last month, scientists gave the globe its first glimpse of what summer will be like at 1.5 degrees of global warming, which they warn the planet should avoid but has been edging closer to in recent years.
According to a report released on Tuesday by the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, the pre-industrial era, which ended in the middle to late 1800s, was about 1.5 degrees Celsius warmer than the average worldwide temperature in July, which was by far the warmest month on record.
“These records have dire consequences for both people and the planet exposed to ever more frequent and intense extreme events,” said Copernicus deputy director Samantha Burgess.
Deadly Heat Waves
Deathly heat waves have been experienced in Mexico, the Southwest United States, Europe, and Asia. The combustion of coal, oil, and natural gas has been linked to climate change that is driven by humans.
The prior record for a single day’s heat was established in 2016 and tied in 2022. Since July 3, every day has surpassed that mark. Copernicus and the World Meteorological Organisation made the unprecedented declaration that it was probably the hottest month days before it concluded due to the extreme warmth. The calculations on Tuesday made it official.
Rising Temperature
In comparison to pre-industrial times, the average worldwide temperature last month was 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) higher. The world’s governments came to an agreement in 2015 to work towards preventing long-term warming that is 1.5 degrees warmer than pre-industrial times, rather than only a few months or even years.
“It’s a stunning record and makes it quite clearly the warmest month on Earth in 10,000 years,” said Stefan Rahmstorf, a climate scientist at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Research in Germany.
Rahmstorf referenced research using tree rings and other proxies that showed the current epoch is the warmest since the Holocene Epoch began, some 10,000 years ago. And since there was an ice age before the Holocene, it would be reasonable to conclude that this is the warmest record in 120,000 years, he said.
