On Thursday, a total of 30.6 degrees was measured in Etne in Vestland. It is a new Norwegian heat record for September. The high temperatures that have hit southern Norway are also descriptive of June, July and August globally. This year’s summer is the hottest ever recorded by the EU’s climate monitoring service. At the end of August, the residents of this neighborhood outside Hanoi in Vietnam had been surrounded by water for over a week. Photo: NHAC NGUYEN / AFP – Throughout the last three months of 2024, we have had the warmest months of June and August. Both the hottest day and the hottest summer in the Northern Hemisphere have been recorded, says Samantha Burgess. She is a climate scientist and deputy director of Copernicus – the EU’s climate monitoring service. This summer’s many record temperatures increase the likelihood that 2024 will be the hottest year ever recorded, according to Copernicus. The graph shows annual global deviations for June to August in the period 1979–2024 compared to the period 1991–2020. Source: Copernicus’ dataset ERA5. Illustration: Copernicus 1.5 degrees above average The average temperature for European countries in August this year was 1.5 degrees above the 1991-2020 average. This makes the month the second warmest August recorded in Europe, beaten only by August 2022. Although Europe as a whole had temperatures above normal, both southern Norway, parts of Great Britain and Iceland were below average. May become more intense The summer has been characterized by heat waves, forest fires and heavy rainfall worldwide. In July, thousands fled wildfires in Canada. At the same time, the heat ravaged southern Europe. Large red flames and clouds of black smoke billow from behind a row of yellow school buses in the town of Williams Lake, British Columbia, during a wildfire in July. Photo: Spencer Stratton / Reuters Evacuation from a fire in a neighborhood outside Athens in July. Photo: Eurokinissi / AFP Strong waves hit the port city of Keelung in TaiwanPowerful waves hit the port city of Keelung in Taiwan Photo: Carlos Garcia Rawlins / Reuters Several people died in Greece as a result of the heat. High temperatures also meant that the tourist attraction Acropolis had to close in the capital, Athens. Typhoon “Gaemi” ravaged Asia, killing a dozen people in China and the Philippines. Climate scientist Burgess is clear. She says it is urgent to cut emissions, if we are to avoid even worse extreme weather in the future. – The temperature-related extreme events we have witnessed this summer will become increasingly intense, with more devastating consequences for people and the planet, if we do not act immediately to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. That’s why Europe is getting warmer Heat waves in Europe come more often, last longer, and reach higher temperatures than before. Researchers are now clear that this is largely due to man-made greenhouse gas emissions. Swipe to read more about how summers have changed, and what we can do with it. AP How much warmer it has become The probability of heat waves in the world is almost three times as great now, as it was before the industrial revolution. In recent years, large parts of Europe have had maximum temperatures around 10 degrees warmer than normal. AP Every degree counts Scientists have been studying human influence on the climate since the early 20th century, and the evidence has grown stronger since then. Nevertheless, the world’s emissions have continued to increase. If global warming reaches 2 degrees, the number of heat waves in the world will probably double from today’s level. 4 degrees of warming can double the number of heat waves once more, according to the UN climate panel. But now something is happening. AP Is there hope? It may be that the world has finally reached the emission peak. The less greenhouse gases we release, the less these changes will continue to escalate. Many big cities have also become better at handling heat waves. Such measures have already meant that fewer people die from the heat than they would otherwise. Published 06.09.2024, at 03.59
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The hottest summer ever in Europe and the world – news – Klima
