On July 6, 2023, Beijing Olympic Park Landscape Avenue, children sorted out their sunscreen clothing. On the same day, Beijing issued the second high temperature red warning this year, with the highest temperature reaching more than 40 degrees Celsius. Photo by Beijing News reporter Wang Fei
On July 3, 4 and 5, the unofficial record for global average temperature was broken twice in succession and tied once, shocking most of the world.
According to the Associated Press quoted by overseas networks, the global average temperature has been at a historical high for three consecutive days, and after the "hottest day in the world" on the 3rd and 4th, the average temperature value on the 5th is the same as on the 4th.
Specifically, on July 3, the "average temperature of the earth" exceeded 17 degrees Celsius for the first time in history, reaching 17.01 degrees Celsius; on July 4, the "world record" that had just been held for 24 hours was broken, and the new record was 17.18 degrees Celsius.
On July 5, the previous day's "world record" was "brushed off", and the "17 degrees Celsius red line", which has never been touched since mankind had this data caliber, was broken three times in succession just entering July.
In fact, scientists have been warning of record-high temperatures in 2023 since this year, and La Niña is giving way to El Niño.
The "hottest day in the world" in July seems to fulfill scientists' warning that global warming is pushing the planet into a hotter future, "there is no hottest, only hotter", and humanity is facing unprecedented challenges.
On June 27, 2023, local time, in the suburbs of Dallas, Texas, USA, children playing in the water. The highest temperature in Dallas recently reached around 46 degrees Celsius. Photo: Xinhua News Agency
More "hot" days to come?
Humans only began to calculate the global average temperature in 1940. "Earth's average temperature" was jointly measured by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the University of Maine in 1979, and the statistical standard is the average temperature of 2 meters above the surface of the world, and announced by the National Environmental Prediction Center.
This data has been changed from the original data summary method to a unified meteorological satellite monitoring method, and the standard scale is unified and more convincing than before. Therefore, although this data is an informal record, it has been widely valued by meteorological, environmental and agricultural and transportation departments in various countries.
The previous record for average global temperatures was 16.92 degrees Celsius in August 2016 and July 2022. This year, many leading meteorologists have just declared that "the past June is the hottest June on record", and July indicates that more "hot" days are yet to come.
Not only that, but this year's heat wave hit a wide range.
Persistent high temperatures throughout China, especially in the north, with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius in many large cities; India's June heat reached an astonishing 43.5 degrees Celsius, causing hundreds of people to be hospitalized with heat stroke and nearly 170 deaths; North Africa's maximum temperature approached a horrific 50 degrees Celsius; and in Saudi Arabia, the Hajj during a heat wave exposed more than 2,000 people to heat stress.
Europe is no exception. Spain, France, and Germany have just experienced extremely hot June and even launched the "Prevent Heat Wave Deaths" campaign; The UK's National Weather Service said the UK had just ushered in its hottest June since the record was set in 1884.
In the United States, NOAA chief scientist Kapnik said that at least 38 million people across the United States were under a heat alert on July 5, and the Washington Post predicted that at least 54 million people in the United States could face "dangerously high temperatures" by the end of the week.
Canada, the northern neighbor of the United States, usually rarely has high temperatures in summer because it is located in high latitudes, but this year due to the generally high temperature and dry weather, the mountain fires "high fever does not subside" and affects neighboring countries; In Mexico, to the south of the United States, high temperatures have directly killed 112 people since March.
Even Antarctica, the coldest city on Earth, has not been spared – on the continent, Ukraine's Vernadysky research station has just recorded temperatures of 8.7 degrees Celsius. This is the highest temperature ever recorded on the land of Antarctica.
The sea isn't much better — NOAA says surface temperatures in parts of the North Atlantic are about 9 degrees Fahrenheit above normal, and about half of the ocean could face "marine heatwaves" by September. In a normal year, less than one-tenth of such oceans are present.
On July 6, 2023, local time, people walked past an automatic spray cooling device in a market in Kuwait's Capital Province. Since June this year, the sea surface temperature of the equatorial Middle East Pacific Ocean has risen significantly, and it has now entered El Niño status, and many places around the world have been hit by high temperatures. Photo: Xinhua News Agency
What if high temperatures sweep the world?
For the high temperature that swept the world, the World Meteorological Organization believes that the global high temperature in 2016 was caused by the last El Niño phenomenon, and this year's high temperature is also due to El Niño. Back in May, the group said it was "almost certain" that the next five years would be the hottest on record.
After successive "average temperature on Earth" records were broken, the organization's secretary-general, Talas, issued a press release saying that "the emergence of El Niño will greatly increase the likelihood of breaking temperature records and causing more extreme heat in many parts of the world and oceans."
Other experts, however, argue that El Niño has only exacerbated, not caused, warming the planet, and that "even without El Niño, the heat of the past few years is evident, and the Earth is hotter than at any time in 125,000 years."
In a statement, some meteorologists at the Earth Research Institute in California, Berkeley, pointed out that the increase in carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions increased by human activities, combined with the superimposed boost of El Niño, pushed the temperature to new highs, given the poor control of carbon emissions, "this is a completely predictable result."
The sharp rise in temperatures has unnerved some experts who have long tracked climate change. Professor McNaudy of the University of Miami exclaimed, "It's unbelievable to go further than our inference."
Climatologist Simmons believes that the "average temperature of the earth" continues to break 17 degrees Celsius, "an important and symbolic milestone in global warming", which means that "more sun, month, and annual maximum temperature records will be broken for at least the next year and a half."
On the question of "consequences of persistent heat", there is a high degree of agreement: this will lead to more melting glaciers, accelerated sea level rise, and far-reaching impacts on health, food security, water management and the environment, with "the most dire consequences, such as severe drought, famine and the spread of infectious diseases".
Some public health experts predict that in the summer of 2023 alone, the additional medical costs caused by extreme heat will exceed $1 billion.
The high temperature is sweeping the world, what should humans do? According to the UN-backed Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, countries can help avoid the worst warming by reducing the use of coal, oil and gas, ramping up renewable energy and helping farmers store carbon in agricultural soils. But others disagree, as "El Niño is far from well understood."
The controversy surrounding the unprecedented heat hit and the El Niño phenomenon is still developing, and the future is so disturbing. In the current emergency, enhanced weather warnings may be one of the few important options to reduce extreme weather hazards. In the long run, it is urgent for all countries to actively join hands to safeguard the earth, the common home of all mankind.
Written by / Tao Short Room (Columnist)
Editor / He Rui
Proofreading / Lin Zhao