By John Ikani
NASA’s leading scientists have issued a grave warning, expressing the likelihood of July 2023 becoming the warmest month on record in “hundreds, if not thousands, of years.”
The intensity of the current heatwave, they caution, is only a glimpse of what lies ahead.
According to Gavin Schmidt, Director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, “We are seeing unprecedented changes all over the world.
The heatwaves that we are seeing in the US, in Europe, China, and demolishing records left, right and center. This is not a surprise.”
The scorching temperatures experienced in June 2023 have already earned it the title of the hottest June on record, making July’s impending heat even more ominous.
Kate Calvin, NASA’s chief scientist and senior climate adviser, left no room for doubt when she stressed, “We know from science is that human activity, principally greenhouse gas emissions, are unequivocally causing the warming we are seeing on our planet.”
Astoundingly, NASA’s data analysis has indicated an alarming trend for the past four decades.
Gavin Schmidt elucidated, “There has been a decade-on-decade increase in temperatures throughout the last four decades.”
To put the current situation into perspective, the US space agency experienced a similar temperature spike in July and August 2016, driven by a super El Nino event in the winter of 2015-2016.
While another El Nino event is currently brewing, Schmidt clarified, “We haven’t gotten there with the current El Nino event.”
He added that it has “only just emerged.”
A significant factor contributing to the ongoing heatwaves is the overall warmth pervading the world, particularly evident in the oceans.
Gavin Schmidt highlighted the concerning rise in sea surface temperatures, even beyond tropical regions, stating, “We’ve been seeing record-breaking sea surface temperatures, even outside of the tropics, for many months now. And we will anticipate that is going to continue, and the reason why we think that’s going to continue, is because we continue to put greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere.”
Looking ahead, the prospect of 2023 being the hottest year on record is a haunting reality. Schmidt assigned a “50-50 chance,” cautioning that 2024 may surpass it due to an ascending El Nino.
However, other experts have assigned an 80% likelihood that 2023 will secure its place as the warmest year ever recorded.
As the world grapples with these unprecedented challenges, the urgency to take meaningful climate action becomes increasingly critical.
