The Next ten Years: Climate Change, the Cold War, and the Earth’s Most Outstanding Temperature in the Last Ten-Years
Next year is expected to mark 10 consecutive years with global average temperatures at least 1 degree Celsius higher than the average during the preindustrial period. Earth’s average temperature in the next ten years is expected to be between 1.08 and 1.32 degrees higher than it was before 1900 when humans started burning fossil fuels.
A degree hotter might not seem like much, especially as much of the US emerges from a frigid winter storm. But that kind of change on a global scale has already triggered catastrophic climate effects. It is an average for the entire planet, as some regions have been hit harder by climate change than others.
“This year we have faced several dramatic weather disasters which claimed far too many lives and livelihoods and undermined health, food, energy and water security and infrastructure,” WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said in a statement today. “One third of Pakistan was flooded, with major economic losses and human casualties. Records have been set in China, Europe, North and South America. The Horn of Africa has a long- lasting dry spell and is at risk of a catastrophe.
The Horn of Africa has had to cope with both a La Nia weather pattern and climate change. La Nia has been in play since September 2020. The impact of La Nia varies from region to region. But it generally has a temporary cooling effect on the globe as a whole. After a third winter of La Nia, most likely it’ll end by April next year.
A sweltering heatwave in July wreaked havoc in communities used to a milder climate. For the first time, the Met Office issued a “Red Extreme” heat warning for parts of England. Data centers reported “cooling related” failures. Rail tracks and an airport runway buckled under the oppressive heat. Firefighters in England and Wales responded to an uptick in wildfires sparked by the unusually hot, dry weather. In England and Wales, there were 3,271 excess deaths during this summer’s heat spells.
2022 started off with a bang. The New Year’s day at St James’s Park in London was the warmest on record. The Met Office says this year has been warmer than average. With a few days left, the weather service will release a final number for how hot this year has been. But it’s already clear that it has surpassed 2014, when the previous record for the annual average temperature across the UK was set at 9.88 degrees Celsius (49.78 degrees Fahrenheit).
But even that jaw-dropping figure alone wasn’t enough to make it a record-breaking year for the UK. McCarthy said that the July temperatures had boosted the temperature values but that wasn’t the whole story.