July is on pace to be the hottest month on record, a European climate agency and the World Meteorological Organization said Thursday. Climate scientists predict this is the beginning of a multi-year period of record-shattering temperatures — an “era of global boiling,” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said, speaking to the findings. Immediate action could limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, as called for in the 2015 Paris climate accord, Guterres added. However, German scientists say there’s some evidence that temperatures already exceededthat threshold during two of the last three weeks.
- The weather pattern known as El Niño is just beginning in North America and not driving the summer heat waves, a University of Miami climate scientist tells The New York Times. Other experts say global temperatures are so outside the norm that there may be causes at work in addition to greenhouse gas emissions and El Niño.
- In the U.S., the National Weather Service expects that more than a dozen recordscould be broken through Saturday as a heat wave that has gripped much of the country extends to the Northeast and puts 118 million people in a heat “danger zone.”
- President Joe Biden on Thursday announced a series of initiatives aimed at alleviating the life-threatening dangers posed by extreme heat, including protections for workers, grants for cities and towns to expand their tree coverage, and helping Western states expand their water storage capacities.
- Phoenix is in the grip of a historic hot streak.
- Scientific American is tallying all the heat recordsthat have been set this summer.
By Melissa Cantor, Editor at LinkedIn News
‘The era of global boiling has arrived,’ says UN boss, as White House announces provisions to protect workers from extreme heat
- “The era of global warming has ended; the era of global boiling has arrived,” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said Thursday, speaking about new data released from the European Union and the World Meteorological Organization.
- Guterres declared that July is set to be the hottest month on record.
- President Biden announced provisions to protect workers and communities from extreme heat on Thursday, as much of the United States was blanketed by what the National Weather Service called “a dangerous heat wave.”
“The era of global warming has ended; the era of global boiling has arrived.”
So said United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres in a speech Thursday at the UN headquarters in New York City. He focused on new data released from the European Union and the World Meteorological Organization, declaring July is set to be the hottest month on record.
Phoenix has had a brutal summer, and earlier this month, the city broke a 1974 record for the consecutive number of days the temperature has reached over 110 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the National Weather Service.
“For vast parts of North America, Asia, Africa and Europe, it is a cruel summer,” Guterres said. “For the entire planet, it is a disaster.”
The record heat affecting communities across the globe is caused by climate change, and although the phenomenon has long been predicted, the pace of change is devastating, Guterres said.
“For scientists, it is unequivocal — humans are to blame,” Guterres said. “All this is entirely consistent with predictions and repeated warnings. The only surprise is the speed of the change. Climate change is here. It is terrifying, and it is just the beginning.”
On Thursday, much of the United States was blanketed in what the National Weather Service called “a dangerous heat wave.” Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and Boston are under a heat advisory, and the New York City metro area is under an excessive heat warning, according to a Thursday bulletin by the National Weather Service. Numerous high maximum and high minimum temperature records are expected to be broken through Saturday, the National Weather Service said.
Guterres said it is still possible to limit global warming to to 1.5° Celsius above preindustrial levels, as the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement has called for, but “only with dramatic, immediate climate action.”
“We have seen some progress: a robust rollout of renewables, some positive steps from sectors such as shipping,” Guterres said. “But none of this is going far enough or fast enough.”
Greenhouse gas emissions have to be reduced globally and quickly, Guterres emphasized, adding that “fossil fuel companies must chart their move towards clean energy, with detailed transition plans across the entire value chain: No more greenwashing. No more deception.”
In his speech, Guterres also underlined his view that countries must invest in adaptation measures.
“Extreme weather is becoming the new normal,” he said. “All countries must respond and protect their people from the searing heat, fatal floods, storms, drought and raging fires that result.”
To address the conditions, the Biden administration asked the Department of Labor to issue a Hazard Alert Thursday to give workers protections from heat under federal law. There have been 436 work-related deaths caused by heat exposure since 2011, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and thousands are hospitalized every year due to heat, according to the White House. The Hazard Alert is aimed at helping employers understand what they should be doing to protect workers from extreme heat and help workers understand their rights.
For help with future preparations, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will put $7 million from the Inflation Reduction Act to improve weather forecasting.
“The need for actionable weather information never ends, and neither do our efforts to make that information as accurate as possible,” NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad said in a written statement about the funding. “This new consortium funded by President Biden’s Investing in America agenda will help us stay on the cutting edge and help continue innovation needed for more precise forecasts.”
Another heat-related initiative that President Biden announced Thursday is a $152 million investment, also from the IRA, to improve water storage capacity in areas of California, Colorado and Washington that have been particularly affected by drought.
In addition to a rigorous plan to reduce greenhouse gas emission and improve adaptation, Guterres also called for developed countries to live up to commitments to provide $100 billion per year in climate support to developing countries and for the global financial system to be more aggressive in using its power to combat climate change.
“The evidence is everywhere: Humanity has unleashed destruction,” Guterres said. “This must not inspire despair, but action.”