The confirmation comes directly from the pages of “Nature“: Summer 2023 marked a heat record for the Northern Hemisphere, with temperatures almost four degrees higher than the average of the coldest season on record. A fact that could silence the doubts of those who still deny climate change
Summer 2023: a record year, according to science
There research used a truly fascinating method to determine past temperatures: the analysis of tree growth rings. This method not only confirms the 2023 as the warmest year since when there are reliable records (from 1850), but it also reveals that it is the hottest summer since the Roman Empire dominated Europe. Exceeding the extremes of the variability natural climate, this period significantly exceeds even the historical peaks linked to phenomena such as El Niño.
Trees don’t lie
Tree rings, which collect data year after year, have offered a unique window into past climate, showing how Also major volcanic eruptions have shaped the Earth’s climate, leading to significant drops in temperatures. But unlike these natural events, current global warming is driven by human activities and growing greenhouse gas emissions.
There recalibration of historical temperatures compared to those of the 19th century century suggests that summer 2023 was 2.07°C warmer compared to the summer average between 1850 and 1900. “This is our new normal in a rapidly changing climate,” emphasizes Ulf Büntgen, of the University of Cambridge.
Forecast for summer 2024: even hotter?
And the news is not encouraging: With the current El Niño event expected to continue until early summer 2024, new heat records could be broken, exacerbating heat waves and droughts.
“It is crucial to act now to reduce emissions greenhouse gases“
concludes Jan Esper, lead author of the study.
Believe global communities are doing Enough to counteract these forecasts increasingly extreme climates?
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