Is it hot enough for you?
New research shows this summer was the hottest on record, and experts say there have been more extreme heat out there.
The news comes as no surprise, as this year’s 4th of July was declared the hottest day ever recorded on Earth.
June, July and August were “hottest year on record globally with an average temperature of 16.77°C [62.2 F]0.66°C above average,” the EU-backed Copernicus Climate Change Service reported.
The record may not be broken this year, scientists say.
“2023 is currently rated as the second hottest year [year]With 4 months left in 2016, the temperature is only 0.01 degrees Celsius lower than in 2016. said Samathana Burgess, the department’s deputy director, of the data, which dates back to 1940.
The findings also noted that much of the world experienced “above-average precipitation” this summer, leading to “breaking local rainfall records and in some cases causing flooding”.
Plus, it was pointed out how “drier-than-average conditions” elsewhere have contributed to “significant wildfires” in places like Canada — New York was suffocating with smog last June.
Another factor making 2023 stand out is the severe El Niño weather pattern, which affects wind and water currents around the globe.
After the news broke on July 4, Petteri Taalas, secretary-general of the World Meteorological Organization, said: “The emergence of El Niño will greatly increase the probability of breaking temperature records and triggering more extreme heat in many regions and oceans of the world.”
Burgess also stressed that water temperatures can also change rapidly.
“Global oceans had their warmest daily surface temperatures on record in August, and it was the warmest month on record,” Burgess added.
Rockaway Fishing Charter Captain Tom Lacognata previously told The Washington Post that the phenomenon of markedly warmer waters is also a major factor in the exponential increase in shark sightings, especially off the coast of New York.
“Last year we saw a great white about three miles offshore – and now we’ve seen sharks from the south as well, including spinner sharks and bull sharks. We haven’t seen those in the past,” he said.
