The records broken this year are: Warmest June on record globally, Warmest day on record globally, record thinnest Antarctic sea ice and seasonal record for daily average ocean temperature.
In July, the extreme heat hit several countries in Europe. Sea water along the Spanish coast has reached new record levels for this time of year. According to the Spanish Meteorological Institute (Aemet), the average temperature in mid-July was 24.6 degrees, which is 2.2 degrees higher than the average for the season.
The high water temperatures have also contributed to the extreme heat that southern Europe is currently experiencing with temperatures around the 40-degree mark in several places in Spain as well as Italy and Greece.
“We are not surprised”
It is difficult to directly link this year’s climate record with climate change because weather systems and ocean currents are complex and variable, but scientists worry that the measurements could be the outcome of one of the most serious scenarios put forward by the IPCC climate panel.
– We are not surprised. What you may be surprised by is the pace and strength; it comes earlier and hits harder than we expected, says Johan Rockström, professor of environmental science.
Four records broken this year
Climate research shows that global warming amplifies natural weather systems such as El Niño, which may explain the extreme weather experienced by many countries this year.
BBC lists the year’s four climate records:
On July 6 this year, the highest global daily average temperature was measured since measurements began in 1940.
June this year was the warmest June recorded since measurements began in 1850.
The average sea surface temperature above the 60th parallel south and below the 60th parallel north this summer is the highest since 1979 when measurements began.
The sea ice at Antarctica is record low.
– This is not similar to anything we set earlier in July, the ice cover is ten percent less than the previous record low. It’s another sign that we don’t understand how fast it’s going, says Caroline Holmes, researcher at the British Antarctic Survey, to the BBC.
Rockström: The window is not closed
Johan Rockström says that climate models can possibly underestimate the pace of climate change.
– What you can criticize the big global climate models for is that they seem to be somewhat slower than the planet in its real function. Above all, the complexity of the oceans is not sufficiently represented.
– We are in a climate emergency which is about avoiding unmanageable extremes in the future. The window is still open to have a manageable future, he says and continues:
– We have existed as modern humans on earth for 200,000 years and during that entire period we have never experienced temperatures as hot as now, says Johan Rockström, professor of environmental science.