Current:Home > MyEarth just had its hottest summer on record, U.N. says, warning "climate breakdown has begun"-LoTradeCoin
Earth just had its hottest summer on record, U.N. says, warning "climate breakdown has begun"
View Date:2024-12-23 22:45:10
United Nations — "Earth just had its hottest three months on record," the United Nations weather agency said Wednesday.
"The dog days of summer are not just barking, they are biting," warned U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a statement coinciding with the release of the latest data from the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) by the World Meteorological Organization.
"Our planet has just endured a season of simmering — the hottest summer on record. Climate breakdown has begun," Guterres said.
The WMO's Secretary-General, Petteri Taalas, issued an urgent assessment of the data, saying: "The northern hemisphere just had a summer of extremes — with repeated heatwaves fueling devastating wildfires, harming health, disrupting daily lives and wreaking a lasting toll on the environment."
Taalas said that in the southern hemisphere, meanwhile, the seasonal shrinkage of Antarctic Sea ice "was literally off the charts, and the global sea surface temperature was once again at a new record."
The WMO report, which includes the Copernicus data as well information from five other monitoring organizations around the world, showed it was the hottest August on record "by a large margin," according to the U.N. agency, both on land and in the global monthly average for sea surface temperatures.
The WMO cited the U.K.'s government's Met Office weather agency, which has warned there is "a 98% likelihood that at least one of the next five years will be the warmest on record."
Copernicus data already puts 2023 on track to be the hottest year on record overall. Right now it's tailing only 2016 in the temperature record books, but 2023 is far from over yet.
"Eight months into 2023, so far we are experiencing the second warmest year to date, only fractionally cooler than 2016, and August was estimated to be around 1.5°C warmer than pre-industrial levels," Carlo Buontempo, director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, said.
"We can still avoid the worst of climate chaos," said the U.N.'s Guterres, adding: "We don't have a moment to lose."
- In:
- Climate Change
- Severe Weather
- United Nations
Pamela Falk is the CBS News correspondent covering the United Nations, and an international lawyer.
TwitterveryGood! (9444)
Related
- Question of a lifetime: Families prepare to confront 9/11 masterminds
- Your First Look at Summer House's All-Black Spinoff Martha's Vineyard
- North Korea condemns gangster-like reactions of U.S. to spy satellite launch
- Kelly Clarkson Seemingly Calls Out Ex Brandon Blackstock and Divorce Drama in abcdefu Song Cover
- New Orleans marks with parade the 64th anniversary of 4 little girls integrating city schools
- Why The Voice's Niall Horan Jokes Blake Shelton Was Drunk for This Audition
- Why Chris Pratt Says Bedtime for His and Katherine Schwarzenegger's Kids Is Like a Drama TV Show
- Transcript: Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova on Face the Nation, June 4, 2023
- Agents search home of ex-lieutenant facing scrutiny as police probe leak of school shooting evidence
- Chinese barge suspected of looting World War II shipwrecks: Desecration of war graves
Ranking
- The Daily Money: Mattel's 'Wicked' mistake
- Super Typhoon Mawar slams Guam as Category 4 storm: The winds are howling, things are breaking
- Super Typhoon Mawar slams Guam as Category 4 storm: The winds are howling, things are breaking
- 2 dead, over 200 at risk of suspected meningitis after surgeries in Mexico, CDC says
- Guns smuggled from the US are blamed for a surge in killings on more Caribbean islands
- Coach Outlet Just Dropped the Price on This $250 Bestselling Crossbody Bag to $79
- 13 family members die after reportedly eating toxic porridge in Namibia
- TLC's Jazz Jennings and Gabe Paboga Detail the Beauty and Terror of Being Transgender on TV
Recommendation
-
How Alex Jones’ Infowars wound up in the hands of The Onion
-
Why The Handmaid's Tale Showrunner Suddenly Stepped Down Before Season 6
-
Remembering murdered journalist George Polk
-
Here's What Gwyneth Paltrow Said to Man Who Sued Her After Ski Crash Verdict Was Revealed
-
Kirk Herbstreit berates LSU fans throwing trash vs Alabama: 'Enough is enough, clowns'
-
Kate Spade 24-Hour Flash Deal: Get This $330 Bucket Bag for Just $79
-
Why Kelly Clarkson Is Nervous on a Personal Level to Release Album After Brandon Blackstock Divorce
-
Top-Rated Tinted Sunscreens To Achieve That “Your Skin, but Better” Look Along With Your SPF