Record-breaking hot weather in the last decade: The US, Canada, and the U.S. has been hit by a heat wave
Elsewhere, Mexico’s extreme heat has been continuing for weeks, with temperatures hitting 49°C. The US has been hit by a heat wave.
On July 4, the global average temperature was estimated to be 62.9 degrees Fahrenheit, according to NOAA climate models. That’s about half a degree Fahrenheit higher than the previous daily record set on August 14, 2016. While the average temperature may sound low, each day the global temperature estimate includes the entire planet.
The trend is clear. The last 8 years were the hottest on record. The next five years and the period after that will be the hottest in recorded history, according to forecasters from the World Meteorological Organization and the UK Met Office.
In some places, the heat has led to disastrous consequences, such as destruction and pollution from wildfires in Canada and a lengthy heatwave in Mexico. Researchers say that human-made climate change is responsible for the increased intensity of the “heat dome” over Southern America.
Thomas Smith, an environmental geographer at the London School of Economics, says records for climate phenomena have been broken before, but this June felt different. At the moment, everything is record-breaking and I don’t think any of us have seen it. Extreme weather events linked to climate change have become more common in the last decade and the past eight years were the warmest on record.
And hot weather is deadly, whether or not it breaks a record. It is impossible to work or exercise in high temperatures that cause cardiovascular diseases, asthma and air pollution. Babies and older people are more at risk of heat-related illnesses when they work outdoors. It is even more deadly when it combines with humidity.
Sea ice loss in Canada is far off the average for the last 20 years, and the heatwave has exceeded 14°C record with Copernicus
Eric Holthaus is the founder of a weather service in Minnesota called Currently in Minneapolis, and he believes that the global climate system is degrading.
The June average was far off the amount of sea ice in the world. The lowest extent was recorded on 29 June at 21.78 million square kilometres, an anomaly of –3.84 square kilometres, according to data from NASA’s snow and ice data centre. Sea ice was at an all-time low in the middle of winter in the Amundsen region. The British Antarctic Survey’s sea ice expert says the ice is at an extreme low and it’s the third lowest since records began 18 months ago. “Sea ice is hard to predict, but given this recent history, it’s hard to see it bouncing back much in the next year,” says Holmes. Sea-ice loss is important for the preservation of multiple organisms which rely on the sea ice, in particular the timing of its freeze and melt.
In Canada, swathes of the country have experienced temperatures up to 14°C above the average for June, along with catastrophic wildfires. The amount of carbon released to the atmosphere in June exceeded the maximum amount that can be released during a full wildfire season, data from the European Union’s Copernicus atmosphere-monitoring system shows. “Normally in Canada, the fires are July or early August and then things settle down. June is 10 times more important than any previous June in the history of the records, says Smith. This is directly linked to the heatwave, he adds.
“The good news is that we know what we need to do. Holthaus says that it’s not like a black hole is approaching us or something. He says there should be substantial reductions in fossil-fuel emissions as soon as possible, which is what the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change wants.