There’s no doubt that this summer left its mark on us: Not only did we escape the intense heat of 2024, but we also faced the uncomfortable reality of global warming. Just look at this: from June to August, we sweated out an average of 16.8 degrees Celsius (62.24 degrees Fahrenheit), beating the 2023 record by 0.03 degrees Celsius (0.05 degrees Fahrenheit). That’s enough to knock 2023 off its dubious “hottest summer” pedestal.
August Madness: Deja vu, all over again
This year’s August was a familiar foe; it was the hottest month on record, equalling August last year. While July was thankfully a bit cooler, June was brutal, eclipsing the previous year and securing the ominous title of “hottest summer” of 2024.
Copernicus director Carlo Buontempo said July was the first time in over a year that the world had not broken a record, slightly behind 2023, but that this summer was the hottest overall, with June 2024 much hotter than June 2023.
“These sobering figures show how the climate crisis is tightening its grip on us,” said Stefan Ramstorff, a climate scientist at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Research who was not involved in the study. It’s a chilling tale of a climate crisis slowly taking control of our lives.
Air humidity in summer 2024
Have you ever noticed how high temperatures contribute to increased humidity? We’ve potentially broken another unwanted record in humidity levels this summer.
Buontempo was initially unsure whether 2024 would break the record for hottest year ever set last year, mainly because August 2023 was much warmer than average. But now that August 2024 has matched 2023, Buontempo is “pretty confident” that this year will take the title of “hottest year ever.”
Alarming predictions about the future
How to stop the record summer fun of 2024? An unexpected and sharp cooling will be needed in the coming months, which is unlikely according to Buontempo.
“For 2024 not to be the hottest year on record, we would need to see a very significant cooling of the landscape in the remaining months, which seems unlikely at this stage,” Buontempo said.
Even a projected interruption in La Niña’s natural cooling might not be enough to prevent 2024 from taking the title of “warmest year on record.”
Summer 2024: beyond numbers
“As places like Phoenix start to feel more and more like a barbecue that’s been left out at higher altitudes, all of this is creating more misery around the world,” said University of Michigan climate scientist Jonathan Overpeck. This year, the Arizona city has had more than 100 days with temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 degrees Celsius).
“Longer, more intense heatwaves are causing more severe droughts in some places, and more rain and flooding in others. Climate change is becoming too obvious and too costly to ignore.”
The battlefield of extreme weather conditions
The constant barrage of extreme weather we’re living in can feel eerily like we’re in a war zone, says Jennifer Francis, a climatologist at the Woodwell Center for Climate Research. It urges us to recognize the constant cacophony of heat waves, floods, wildfires, and high winds as not just weather variables but also dire warnings.
“Like people living in a war zone with the constant sound of bombs and the rattling of guns, we too are becoming deaf to what should be alarm bells and air raid sirens,” Francis said.
As El Niño’s effects wane, a harsher reality is emerging: We are facing a situation that is largely the result of long-term human-induced climate change.
Our actions, including burning coal, oil and natural gas, have brought us to this point. Buontempo warns that we are likely to face more heat waves and extreme temperatures.
Despite a relatively mild summer in the UK, the global scenario was far from forgiving, with the global average temperature anomaly in the first eight months of this year alone being 0.70°C above the 1991-2020 average.
Unless we witness an unprecedented decrease in the mean anomaly of at least 0.30°C for the rest of the year, 2024 could exceed 2023, an unheard-of expectation in the ERA5 dataset. Many countries in the Americas, Africa, Europe and Asia have been hit by record heat this year, leading to severe water shortages and deaths, particularly in Mexico and Central America.
Now is the time to actively heed these warnings. We need urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or prepare for more extreme heat events and their devastating consequences, says CS3 deputy director Samantha Burgess. Isn’t it time to turn down the heat?
This was a comprehensive summary of 2024, the hottest summer on our planet. This is not to instill fear, but to inspire change. Let’s take this as a not-so-gentle nudge to do our part to save our planet. After all, every little bit counts.
Source: Port Altele
