scientists from the space agency USA (POT) They confirmed this Monday that July was the hottest month since global measurements have been taken and warned that 2024 will be an even warmer year than 2023.
“What we are seeing here is anomalous and above the expected trend (…) We anticipate that 2023 will not only be exceptionally warm, but 2024 will be even warmer”Gavin Schmidt, director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, pointed out at a press conference.
According to NASA calculations, July 2023 was 0.43 degrees Fahrenheit (0.24 degrees Celsius) warmer than any other July on record and was 2.1 degrees Fahrenheit (1.18 Celsius) warmer than average. July between 1951 and 1980.
The five hottest joules since 1880 have all occurred in the last five years, the institution notes. The previous record was in July 2019.
The consequences of the El Niño weather phenomenon are part of the cause of this increase, Schmidt said, although its possible effects have not yet been fully seen this year and are expected “a bigger event towards the end of the year.” The greatest impact of El Niño will occur in 2024.
Furthermore, he stated, “other things are happening beyond El Niño”with “extreme temperatures in the North Atlantic” and elsewhere and “a persistence of sea surface temperature anomalies”.
more and more fires
The effects of this global warming translate into “heat waves and more intense rains and contribute “to the growth of forest fires in areas that have been affected by high temperatures.”
Some consequences that are being seen, for example, in the recent fires in Hawaii, which have become the deadliest in the last century in the United States, with nearly a hundred victims on the island of Maui.
“The storm tracks have been moving northward with the climate change. Hawaii It’s been getting less precipitation overall, decade after decade, so there are long-term effects that are contributing.”he claimed.
Thus, the climate crisis “It’s kind of a threat multiplier for wildfires” and “there is a general trend that we will see more and more towards bigger and more intense wildfires.”
Several scientists from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) were present at the press conference, such as Sarah Kapnick, who recalled the need to reduce greenhouse gases.
“It is important to remember that these years will be cold compared to those that will come in the middle of the century if we continue to warm our planet and continue greenhouse gas emissions”he claimed.
The oceans are warming
Another consequence of global warming is the increase in ocean temperatures, reminds EFE Carlos Del Castillo, head of the ocean ecology laboratory at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
“What happens in the sea does not stay in the sea. The ocean waters are much warmer and that causes more warm water to go into the atmosphere, which intensifies storms and creates hurricanes.” Explain.
The temperature of the sea can even contribute to the fact that “there will be much stronger snowstorms, even if it seems counterintuitive”. “It all has to do with the amount of energy in the system,” details.
And, in the end, what the increase in temperature in the ocean leaves is a general damage for the economy of the planet, “Not only in terms of food, but trade, with shipping lanes affected by more storms.”
Some economic effects that will also suffer the millions of people who live along the coast. “Storms and hurricanes will affect coastal infrastructure and there will be more flooding”he pointed.
In his years as a scientist, Del Castillo added, he has gone from worrying about the world he was going to leave his great-grandchildren and great-grandchildren to worrying about the world he is leaving his daughter.
“Our generation is not going to pass the test of history because the information has been clear for a long time and we have been talking about this issue for decades. The information has been available, the technologies are available, but we have been very slow to respond.”sentenced.
Source: EFE
Source: Gestion
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