Bloomberg's Will Mathis and Aaron Clark article on the global temperature on Monday, July 3 and Tuesday, July 4th being breaking new heat records highlights escalating dangers of Climate Change and increasing greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels.
The average worldwide temperature on Monday reached 17 degrees Celsius (63 degrees Fahrenheit), surpassing the previous record of 16.9 degrees Celsius set in August 2016. However, the new record only stood for a day, as the average temperature rose to 17.2 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, July 4th. These unprecedented highs underscore the severity of the summer in the northern hemisphere in 2023 and emphasize the slow progress made in curbing emissions worldwide.
Experts warn that the consequences of rising temperatures are dire for both people and ecosystems. Friederike Otto, a senior lecturer at the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment, describes it as a "death sentence." The El Niño weather phenomenon is expected to further elevate global temperatures.
The article also highlights the immediate impact of the heatwave, with millions of people worldwide being exposed to extreme heat. China experienced a scorching heat wave, India witnessed extreme heat linked to deaths in impoverished regions, and Texas, northern Mexico, and the UK faced dangerous heat events.
The development of El Niño conditions in the tropical Pacific for the first time in seven years is predicted to contribute to soaring temperatures. The World Meteorological Organization warns that temperature records are likely to be broken due to this phenomenon.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported in March that the world is likely to surpass 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming in the near future unless significant climate action is taken. The IPCC emphasizes the need to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions to 60% below 2019 levels by 2035 to mitigate climate-related risks.
The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, has called for comprehensive climate action and a rapid phase-out of fossil fuel use. The upcoming COP28 UN climate summit in Dubai will be crucial in assessing global efforts to limit global warming. However, expectations for significant outcomes from the summit are already low due to inter-country disagreements and perceived lack of ambition.
If progress falls short of effectively limiting global average temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius, vulnerable countries, particularly small island states, may start questioning the effectiveness of the multilateral climate process.
Source: Bloomberg
This article was written by ChatGPT
