Average global temperatures during the three months of summer (June, July, August) were the highest ever measured in the last 120,000 years, Deputy Director of Copernicus Climate Change Service (ECMWF) Samantha Burgess told AFP on Wednesday, averaging 16.77°C.
UN General Secretary Antonio Guterres also said in a news release following the Copernicus announcement on Wednesday that “climate collapse has begun.”
Guterres warned that the climate is “imploding” faster than we can cope with it, with extreme weather phenomena hitting every corner of the planet.
Although the Copernicus database dates back only to 1940, figures may be compared to earlier millennia’s climates using tree rings or ice cores, and that data is synthesized in the latest report by the UN climate panel (IPCC).
The center added that since the 90’s, average global temperatures have been steadily increasing due to global warming caused by human activity.
July 2023 was the warmest month ever measured, while August 2023 is now the 2nd warmest, according to Copernicus.
Since April, average surface temperature has been rising to unprecedented levels. From July 31 to August 31, temperatures exceeded the previous record set in March 2016 on a daily basis, reaching 21°C, well above all previous records.
Adding to that, the overheating of the seas, which continue to absorb 90% of the excess heat, leads to overheating of the atmosphere and an increase in humidity, resulting in more intense rainfall and more energy available to facilitate tropical cyclones, also affecting biodiversity.
Temperatures will keep rising until industrial countries turn off the tap on emissions caused by combustion of coal, oil and gas, Burgess cautioned three months ahead of COP28 in Dubai.
Heatwaves, droughts, floods, and fires have hit European countries, as well as Asia and North America, often causing unprecedented loss of life, environmental damage, and economic costs.
Since the start of the year, 535,000 hectares have gone up in smoke in Europe, according to Copernicus data as of September 2. This is above the 447,000 ha overall average, although well below the 1.21 million reached over the same period in 2017.
As of the end of August, a study by the University of Chicago Energy Policy Institute (EPIC) had established that fine particulate pollution represents the greatest external threat to global public health.