The global thermometer is racing, sending scientists into a panic. This Monday, July 3, the earth experienced the hottest day mankind has ever recorded in any month, with the average temperature of 17.01 °C breaking the 17 °C mark for the first time. This is much higher than the previous world record of 16.92°C set on August 13, 2016 and July 24, 2022. And much earlier. “We’ve just started the July-August ‘plateau’, the time when the Earth is hottest because there are more continents in the north than in the south,” observed agricultural climatologist Serge Zaka on Twitter. “3. July 2023, remember this date. “In a few decades, we will fondly remember those 17°C.” jokes Bill McGuireVolcanologist and Emeritus Professor of Geophysical and Climatic Hazards at University College London.
The aftermath of El Nino
Climatologists expect this staggering world record to be broken in the coming weeks as the El Niño episode has only just begun. This natural weather phenomenon, which occurs on average every three to seven years over a period of nine to 12 months, is generally associated with increases in global temperatures and is therefore likely to amplify the rise in the thermometer due to human-caused global warming. On Tuesday, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO, a specialized agency of the United Nations) called on governments to anticipate the consequences of El Niño “to save lives and livelihoods”. “The arrival of El Niño will significantly increase the likelihood of temperature records being broken and triggering more extreme heat in many parts of the world and in the oceans,” said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas. And to appreciate that states “need to prepare to limit the impact on our health, our ecosystems and our economies,” particularly through early warning systems.
Scotland worried about their lochs
Around the world, people and ecosystems are already being hit hard by record temperatures. In Europe, just one example among many but highly symbolic: the UK experienced its hottest month on record in June, with an average temperature of 15.8°C, ie 0.9°C higher than the previous record of 14.9 °C in June 1940 and June 1976. Which led the authorities to impose water use reductions in south-east England while Scotland was concerned about the water levels of its rivers and lakes. a height.
More immediately dangerous, for more than two weeks, an impressive heat dome has swept through the southern United States (especially Texas and Louisiana) and Mexico, killing more than a hundred people. On Monday, the thermometer in Furnace Creek in California’s Death Valley reached 52.1°C, the highest temperature recorded worldwide this year, beating the 51.8°C observed in Iran in June. Frightening temperatures are also prevailing in Pakistan, on the Arabian Peninsula and in North Africa. India has been hit by a deadly heatwave in recent weeks, particularly for the rural population. The same is true elsewhere in Southeast Asia. Or in China, where the situation is such that authorities warned Tuesday that the country will face “several natural disasters, particularly floods, in July.” […]strong wind and high temperatures.