The era of global warming is over and “the era of global boiling has dawned,” UN Secretary General António Guterres said after scientists confirmed July was on track to be the world’s hottest month on record.
António Guterres said “Climate change is here. It’s terrifying. And this is just the beginning, it is still possible to limit global temperature rise to 1.5C [above pre-industrial levels] and avoid the worst climate change. But only with dramatic, immediate climate action.”
Global temperatures have broken records this month, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the EU’s Copernicus Earth observation programme, fueling the burning of fossil fuels and fueling stormy weather.
The steady increase in global average temperatures, caused by pollution that traps sunlight and acts like a greenhouse around the Earth, has exacerbated extreme weather.
Scientists it is clear – humans are to blaim
António Guterres said “Humanity is in the hot seat, It’s a brutal summer for huge parts of North America, Asia, Africa and Europe. It’s a disaster for the whole planet, all of this is completely in line with predictions and repeated warnings. The only surprise is the speed of change. Climate change is here, it’s scary, and it’s just the beginning. The era of global warming is over; an era of global boiling has dawned.”
Guterres urged politicians to act quickly. “The air is unbreathable, the heat is unbearable and the level of fossil fuel profits and climate inaction is unacceptable. Leaders must lead. No more hesitation, no more excuses, no more waiting for others to move first. There’s just no time for that anymore.
“It is still possible to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C and avoid the worst climate change, but only with dramatic, immediate climate action. We have seen some progress massive deployment of renewables and some positive steps in sectors such as shipping but none of it is going far enough or fast enough. Accelerating temperatures call for accelerated action.”
WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said: “The need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is more urgent than ever. Climate action is not a luxury, but a necessity.”
Other climatologists confirmed the findings. Karsten Haustein of the University of Leipzig found that the world was 1.5 C (2.7 F) warmer in July 2023 than the average July before industrialization.
Zeke Hausfather, a climate scientist at the US non-profit organization Berkeley Earth, used tools from Japanese and European meteorologists to estimate that the record will be broken by closer to 0.3C.
He said: “Without today’s big asteroid impact, it is virtually certain that July 2023 will be the warmest month on record by a wide margin. Personally, I find the size of this board a bit overwhelming. We don’t see anything like this in the historical record for the month of July.”
Greenhouse gas pollution has increased the temperatures of deadly heat waves on three continents this month, according to a rapid analysis by the World Weather Attribution Network released Tuesday.
This effect, along with greenhouse gas pollution, has led the WMO to predict a two-in-three chance that one of the next five years will be 1.5C warmer than before the Industrial Revolution – the level to which world leaders have pledged to try to limit global warming until the end century. The WMO warned that this did not mean the target would not be exceeded, as it referred to a 20-year average and not individual months or years.
Joyce Kimutai, a climatologist at the Grantham Institute, said bigger and stronger extreme weather events were wreaking havoc around the world – especially in poorer countries least responsible for emissions. She added: “This should serve as a stark wake-up call to us all. We need to shift the conversation to what urgently needs to happen this year.”
World leaders will meet in the United Arab Emirates in November to agree ways to stop the planet warming, adapt to more extreme weather and pay for the damage.
Cop28 president Sultan Al Jaber, who is also the head of the country’s national oil company, told the Guardian this month that phasing out fossil fuels was “inevitable and necessary”.
Catherine Abreu, founder of Canada’s Destination Zero campaign, said governments need to understand that “this transition away from fossil fuels is not just inevitable, it’s urgent. It takes planning, it takes cooperation; requires the provision of finance to an extent that is not currently being provided.”
The International Energy Agency’s plan to achieve net zero emissions should see no new oil and gas fields approved from 2021. Instead, governments including the US, UK and Australia granted licenses for more drilling.
Marina Romanello, a climate and health researcher at University College London and head of the Lancet Countdown, said: “We have data that shows how the very foundations of health are being undermined by climate change, and despite this knowledge, we see governments and companies still favoring fossil fuels.
