Hottest Summer in 2000 Years Recorded And It’s Getting Worse

Professor Paul Hegerl led the study; Hegerl and team utilized a dataset as comprehensive as it was wide-reaching, sourcing impactful data from tree rings, ice cores, and other climate benchmarks.

These focal points painted an in-depth picture of temperatures historically but also turned up stark findings: the hottest summer in 2000 years translates to not only the highest scorer in two millennia, but it also fits into a broader pattern of alarming warming over the past decades. 

This would be a recent stretch of rising temperatures we most readily associate with “climate change,” in which global warming plainly outpaces natural climate variability. In other words, human activity spurs the hotter, drier weather. 

For perspective, consider that the average temperature in 2023 hovered nearly 1.2°C across the globe, which is higher than the standard global average between 1850 and 1900. It’s abundantly clear, legible in bold indicators, that greenhouse gas emissions confer an accelerated impact on our climate.

Of at least equal relevancy is the fact that the current rate of warming outpaces any in the last two millennia, the study also highlighted. The climate crisis, evidenced by 2023, the hottest summer in two millennia, is nothing if not severe.

The culprits behind the challenge are not exactly unknown to us but include “a direct consequence of anthropogenic influences,” as Professor Hegerl noted. The main cause, of course, is carbon dioxide emissions, which are assisted in their task by other well-known greenhouse gases.

Hegerl also made sure to note that natural factors, such as volcanic activity and solar radiation, play a role. Still, their impact could not explain the speedy ascent of temperates over the last few decades. 

Beyond 2023 earning the infamous honor of being the hottest summer in 20 centuries, we can see the consequences of the warming planet everywhere, whether in the forms of heatwave, wildfires, or severe droughts—all of which are becoming more frequent and intense, while posing major risk to ecosystems, agriculture, and human health.

We haven’t reached sci-fi disaster movie levels of calamity yet, but look no further than the record-breaking heatwaves roiling North America, Europe, and Asia during the summer of 2023, to learn the very real stakes.

These weather anomalies lead to hundreds of tragic heat-related deaths and general disruption. 

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the study cautions that, in light of the situation likely worsening (will 2024 deliver the new hottest summer?), immediate and concerted efforts to mitigate the warming planet are of outsized importance.

The researchers stress that urgent action—a bonafide effort to transition in enormous ways to renewable energy sources while improving energy efficiency—can’t come soon enough. 

The experts hope to safeguard the climate of tomorrow by promoting and implementing sustainable practices and rising to the task of today’s critical crossroads. 

On a more technical but equally pressing level, the study adds another layer to the mountain of evidence propounding the urgency of climate action. It’s disquieting to think that successive summers set records, despite recent efforts like the Paris Agreement and its goal of keeping the globe’s temp to 2°C above pre-industrial levels.

Ultimately, if the hottest summer since Ancient Rome hints at the broader picture, we have work to do. Hopefully, we can meet the challenge with enough effort, cooperation, and ingenuity. 

Source: ScienceDaily