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illuminem summarizes for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on The Washington Post or enjoy below
🗞️ Driving the news: This year, 2023, is increasingly expected to become the hottest year on record, due to a rapidly strengthening El Niño weather pattern and an unprecedentedly hot summer
• Climate scientist Zeke Hausfather reports an 85% chance that 2023 will be the hottest year ever recorded, and other analyses have shown similar predictions
🔭 The context: The world has just gone through the hottest June on record, with July confirmed as the warmest month ever recorded
• Climate models earlier in the year showed uncertainty in the developing El Niño event, but as the year has progressed, forecasts have become more refined, increasingly pointing to an unprecedented 2023
🌎 Why does it matter for the planet: The record temperatures signal the urgency of addressing climate change
• If warming continues at the current rate, average surface temperatures could exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius in the mid-2030s, resulting in new climate disasters
• The heatwave has already caused substantial impact, from daily highs of 110°F in Phoenix to a heat index of 152°F in the Middle East
⏭️ What's next: The burgeoning El Niño pattern and human-caused climate changes are expected to continue heating the planet, potentially leading to even hotter years ahead
• Models indicate that this year’s El Niño may be one of the strongest in recent decades. Scientists, including Hausfather, anticipate that 2023 may be a preamble to even higher temperatures in 2024
💬 One quote: “I think it is very safe to say at this point that 2023 is the odds-on favorite to be the warmest year on record” ( Zeke Hausfather, Climate scientist)
📈 One stat: July was estimated to be around 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 degrees Celsius) warmer than the preindustrial average and shattered the previous July 2019 record by a whopping 0.59 degrees Fahrenheit (0.33 degrees Celsius)
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