This week, after global temperature records were smashed on two consecutive days, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres declared that “climate change is out of control.”
“If we continue to delay critical measures, I believe we are heading for a catastrophic situation, as the last two temperature records demonstrate,” Guterres said, referring to the world temperature records set on Monday and Tuesday.
According to data from the US National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), the average global air temperature was 17.18 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, breaking the previous day’s record of 17.01 degrees.
The daily average temperature for the seven-day period ending Wednesday, according to data from the University of Maine’s Climate Reanalyzer, was.04 degree, higher than any week in 44 years of record-keeping.
On Wednesday, the average temperature on Earth stayed at a record high of 17.18 degrees.
However, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) stated on Thursday that it could not authenticate the Reanalyzer data.
“We recognise that we are in a warm period due to climate change, and combined with El Nino and hot summer conditions, we’re seeing record warm surface temperatures being recorded at many locations across the globe,” the NOAA said in a statement.
The UN recognized the return of El Nino on Tuesday.
The most recent major El Nino event occurred in 2016, which remains the hottest year on record.
Various sections of the world have been experiencing heatwaves, and the EU’s climate monitoring office announced on Thursday that the world had its hottest June on record last month, according to the Guardian.
The southern United States has been suffering beneath an oppressive heat dome in recent weeks, including on Tuesday’s national Fourth of July holiday.
A searing heat wave has continued in parts of China, with temperatures above 35 degrees.
Source:IANS