The summer of 2023 was the hottest on record, according to data from the European Union Climate Change Service released on Wednesday. The three-month period from June through August surpassed previous records by a large margin, with an average temperature of 16.8 degrees Celsius (62.2F) - 0.66C above average. Last month was the also the hottest August on record globally, the third straight month in a row to set such a record following the hottest ever June and July, the EU said on Wednesday. FILE PHOTO: Lifeguard Mohamed stands near a swimming pool while the sun sets over Dubai, United Arab Emirates, August 12, 2023. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky August is estimated to have been around 1.5 degrees Celsius hotter than the pre-industrial average for the 1850-1900 period. Pursuing efforts t...
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Rising temperatures in Florida's waters due to climate change have sparked an extreme stressor for coral reefs causing bleaching, which has scientists concerned. Record global ocean heating has invaded Florida with a vengeance. Water temperatures in the mid-90s (mid-30s Celsius) are threatening delicate coral reefs, depriving swimmers of cooling dips and adding a bit more ick to the Sunshine State’s already oppressive summer weather. Forecasters are warning of temperatures that with humidity will feel like 110 degrees (43 degrees Celsius) by week’s end. If that’s not enough, Florida is about to get a dose of dust from Africa’s Saharan desert that’s likely to hurt air quality. Citizen scientist from Mote Laboratories replants corals on Florida's Keys vulnerable reefs, in Key West,...
Read MoreGreece closed the ancient Acropolis during the hottest part of the day on Friday to protect tourists as southern Europe suffered in a fierce heatwave, while more than 100 million Americans also faced a prolonged spell of sweltering weather. Spain sweltered under an unrelenting heat wave Wednesday as temperatures started to build toward what is forecast to be a torrid weekend across southern Europe. The European Space Agency (ESA), whose satellites monitor land and sea temperatures, has warned that Italy, Spain, France, Germany and Poland are all facing extreme conditions. Giovanni Woods pours water over his head to cool down while selling refreshments along a street corner during hot weather in Houston, Texas, U.S., July 12, 2023. REUTERS/Adrees Latif Temperatures next week could...
Read MoreEarth keeps breaking temperature records due to global warming On Monday, the global average temperature was the highest it’s ever been. It was even hotter on Tuesday. June was hottest June on record globally Global temperatures have smashed through records this week, underscoring the dangers of ever-increasing greenhouse gas emissions generated from burning fossil fuels. The average worldwide temperature reached 17C (63F) on Monday, just above the previous record of 16.9C in August 2016, according to data from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction. The threshold only lasted a day. On Tuesday, July 4, 2023, the average temperature hit 17.2C. This past June was also the hottest June globally on record in terms of sea and air temperatures, according to a statement by ...
Read MoreEven if the world somehow manages to limit future warming to the strictest international temperature goal, four Earth-changing climate “tipping points” are still likely to be triggered with a lot more looming as the planet heats more after that, a new study said. An international team of scientists looked at 16 climate tipping points — when a warming side effect is irreversible, self-perpetuating and major — and calculated rough temperature thresholds at which they are triggered. None of them are considered likely at current temperatures, though a few are possible. But with only a few more tenths of a degree of warming from now, at 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) warming since pre-industrial times, four move into the likely range, according to a study in Thursday’s journal...
Read MoreFirefighters from across Europe came to France's rescue on Friday to battle a massive wildfire, while fire also raged in Portugal and parts of England faced a severe drought, as successive heatwaves renewed the focus on climate change risks. Much of Europe has faced weeks of baking temperatures that have also depleted water levels of the Rhine River in Germany and seen the source of Britain's River Thames dry up further downstream than in previous years. A firefighting aircraft drops flame retardant to extinguish a wildfire near Hostens, as wildfires continue to spread in the Gironde region of southwestern France, in this handout photograph released on August 12, 2022. Courtesy SDIS 33/Handout via REUTERS High temperatures and a worsening drought brought a high risk of new fires...
Read MoreA lose-lose game: animals are under threat as the climate gets warmer and more variable
How has climate change affected your life? Maybe torrential rains have flooded part of your town, or your city has had to contend with longer heat waves every year. Maybe you kept your attention on the news for days at a time to find out if a wildfire would change its direction and come toward you, or if a hurricane would be strong enough that you should evacuate. Climate change will continue to affect the world around us in complex and tragic ways. Increasing temperatures are causing rising ocean levels, shifting weather patterns, and threatening the survival of animals and plants. But along with increasing temperatures, the climate is also becoming more variable, and more extreme. The brown anole (Anolis sagrei) is one of the species studied by the Logan Lab and could provide valu...
Read MoreBritain shattered its record for highest temperature ever registered Tuesday amid a heat wave that has seared swaths of Europe, as the U.K.’s national weather forecaster said such highs are now a fact of life in a country ill-prepared for such extremes. The typically temperate nation was just the latest to be walloped by unusually hot, dry weather that has triggered wildfires from Portugal to the Balkans and led to hundreds of heat-related deaths. Images of flames racing toward a French beach and Britons sweltering — even at the seaside — have driven home concerns about climate change. A man shields his eyes from the sun as he sunbathes backdropped by Tower Bridge in London, Tuesday July 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks) The U.K. Met Office weather agency registered a provisional r...
Read MoreSouthern Europe battles wildfires as heatwave spreads north A heatwave sweeping southern Europe that has caused hundreds of deaths and huge wildfires showed some signs of abating on Monday but continued to move north, including towards Britain where authorities issued an extreme weather warning. Much of Europe is baking in a heatwave that scientists say is consistent with climate change and has pushed temperatures into the mid-40s Celsius (over 110 Fahrenheit) in some regions, with wildfires raging across tinder-dry countryside in Portugal, Spain and France. This photo provided by the fire brigade of the Gironde region (SDIS 33) shows firefighters fighting wildfire near Landiras, southwestern France, Sunday July 17, 2022 . (SDIS 33 via AP) Temperatures in some parts of souther...
Read MoreFires rage in France and Spain, UK gets first ever red ‘extreme heat’ warning Wildfires raged in southwestern France and Spain on Saturday, forcing thousands of people to be evacuated from their homes as blistering summer temperatures put authorities on alert in parts of Europe. More than 12,200 people had been evacuated from France's Gironde region by Saturday morning as more than 1,000 firefighters battled to bring the flames under control, regional authorities said in a statement. A view of trees burning amid a wildfire near Landiras, France, July 13, 2022 in this picture obtained from the fire brigade of the Gironde region (SDIS 33). SDIS 33/Handout via REUTERS "We have a fire that will continue to spread as long as it is not stabilised," Vincent Ferrier, deputy prefect fo...
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