It appears that summer 2023 will be exceptional, as confirmed by the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service on Thursday, stating that the combined impact of climate change and the return of the El Niño phenomenon is pushing ocean and land temperatures to unprecedented levels.
While it is not certain what temperatures will be like for the rest of the summer, record-breaking temperatures have been recorded since April in various parts of the planet, from China to Spain across the Atlantic Ocean. These are the most direct indicators of climate disruption, with increasingly unpredictable disasters such as forest fires, droughts, and heavy rainfall.
The observatory stated in a statement that last month "was the hottest June ever globally, with temperatures surpassing the previous record set in June 2019 by 0.5 degrees Celsius above the 1991-2020 average."
The data from this observatory is among the most widely used and reliable in the world, alongside the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The observatory explained that temperatures reached record levels in Northwestern Europe, while some regions in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Asia, and Eastern Australia were "much hotter than normal," highlighting the significant deviation from normal averages.
In contrast, cooler than usual weather was experienced in Western Australia, Western United States, and Western Russia.
For the past 15 years, temperatures recorded in June have consistently been higher than the monthly averages from 1991 to 2020. However, "June 2023 recorded temperatures much higher than those of previous years. It's a disruption we're not accustomed to," explained Julian Nicola, a scientist at the observatory, to AFP.
The global average temperature in June was 16.51 degrees Celsius, which is 0.53 degrees Celsius higher than the average of the previous three decades. The previous record temperatures, recorded in June 2019, were only 0.37 degrees Celsius higher than the normal averages.
Heatwaves at sea -
The scientist noted that "the extreme temperatures recorded in June 2023 are largely attributable to the exceptionally high ocean surface temperatures," which make up 70% of the Earth's surface.
Ocean temperatures reached record levels in May in the Pacific Ocean due to the El Niño climate phenomenon. In June, the North Atlantic also experienced unprecedented heatwaves, according to the expert at Copernicus.
He added, "One factor is the weakened wind speeds in large areas of the North Atlantic due to a reverse hurricane in the Azores, which was the weakest for the month of June since 1940. This reduced the mixing of surface waters and consequently cooled them."
Nicola added, "In addition, there is ocean warming, which absorbs 90% of the heat generated by human activity," while greenhouse gas emissions caused by humanity continue to increase.
Copernicus pointed out that sea surface temperatures in June were globally higher compared to previous Junes, with "intense heatwaves at sea" in the Baltic Sea as well as around Ireland and Britain.
This trend continues in July, as Tuesday marked the hottest day ever recorded worldwide for any month, according to preliminary data from the United States.
According to the United Nations World Meteorological Organization, climate warming will be fueled in the coming months by the El Niño phenomenon, which is expected to persist throughout the year with at least moderate intensity.
Meanwhile, "Antarctic sea ice reached its lowest levels for the month of June since satellite monitoring began, around 17% below average," according to Copernicus, by a significant margin.
AFP