UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says that “climate change is beyond control”. The statement comes after the average temperature on Earth hit new records for several days this week. Both Monday and Tuesday were the warmest days measured so far.
– If we continue to delay important measures that are needed, I think we are entering a catastrophic situation, as the two most recent records show, says Guterres, reports The Guardian.
Unofficial analyzes of climate data show that the average temperature on Earth over the past seven days has never been higher. During Monday, the average temperature was measured at 17.01 degrees, to rise to 17.18 degrees on Tuesday. This is according to data collected by the US National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP).
According to figures from the University of Maine’s Climate Reanalyzer, a record high of 17.18 degrees will also hold on Wednesday.
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which is considered the leader in climate data, meanwhile states that it could not validate the numbers and that the model used by the University of Maine’s Climate Reanalyzer is not “suitable” for measuring actual temperatures and records, reports The Guardian.
The UN confirms the return of El Niño
However, although NOAA considers the numbers not entirely reliable, they confirm that we are in a warm period due to climate change and that the combination of El Niño and warm summer conditions contributed to “record warm surface temperatures recorded in many places around the world”.
El Niño is a weather phenomenon that constitutes an irregularly recurring change in surface water temperatures and weather conditions in the Pacific Ocean, something that affects the weather in large parts of the world.
Earlier this week, the United Nations confirmed the return of El Niño.
Extreme heat in several places
Now scientists believe that the month of July may become the hottest month ever recorded. Already this week, there have been reports of extreme heat in the United States, among others, where it is expected to reach 50 degrees in some states.
Even in China, where 35 degrees were measured in some places, the heat wave continues, The Guardian reports.