File photo of people cooling off on beaches due to the heat wave in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. EFE/André Coelho
NASA's analyzes are clear: in 2023 The Earth's average surface temperature was the warmest ever recorded. They exceed the average for the reference period used (1951 to 1980) by 1.2 degrees Celsius. Given this situation, researchers from the Goddard Institute for Space Research (GISS) assure. We are “facing a climate crisis”.
“From extreme heat to wildfires to sea level rise, we can see this Our earth is changingsaid Bill Nelson, Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). This is a warning already highlighted in the Global Climate Highlights 2023 report.
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Data from the US space agency shows that between June and December 2023 World records were set for each month. In general the temperature was 1.4°C higher compared to the average at the end of the 19th century, when modern records began. “The global temperature report from NASA and NOAA confirms what billions of people around the world experienced last year: we are facing a climate crisis,” Nelson emphasized.
Scientists say they have conclusive evidence that the planet's long-term warming trend is being driven by human activity. “This is largely due to our fossil fuel emissions“said Gavin Schmidt, director of GISS, in a press release. Schmidt says that “the extraordinary warming “What we are experiencing is nothing like we have seen in human history.”
Despite the evidenceThey continue to study other phenomena which can affect annual or multi-year climate changes such as heat waves, volcanic eruptions or the phenomenon The young. This 2023, it reached the Pacific Ocean in May, which is usually the hottest year on record. “However, Record temperatures in the second half of 2023 occurred before the peak of the current El Niño phenomenon,” warned NASA.
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Regarding volcanic eruptions, NASA was of the opinion Studying the effects of the rash in January 2022 of the underwater volcano Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai, in the Polynesia region. It appears that aerosols from volcanoes have an effect by reflecting sunlight slight cooling of 0.1 °C after the eruption. But “even with occasional cooling factors such as volcanoes or aerosols We will continue to break records as long as greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise,” said Schmidt, who regrets that they will be reached again in 2023 Record levels of greenhouse gas emissions.
“The record year 2023 underlines this the importance of taking urgent and ongoing action to address climate change,” said NASA Associate Administrator Pam Melroy.