World hits land, ocean temperatures as climate change oil 2023 extremes | World news

The goal of keeping long-term global warming within 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) is moving out of reach, climate experts say, with countries failing to set more goals despite months of the heat is falling on land and sea.

According to delegates who gathered in Bonn in early June to prepare for this year’s annual climate talks in November, average global surface air temperatures are more than 1.5C above pre-occupation levels for many days, the EU-funded Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said. .

Although it means that the temperatures have breached the 1.5C threshold before, this is the first time they have done so in the North Cork summer that started on June 1. The temperature also broke April and May records.

“We are running out of time because change takes time,” said Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick, a climate scientist at Australia’s University of New South Wales.

As climate officials from the two biggest greenhouse gas emitters prepare to meet next month, temperatures are breaking June records in China’s capital Beijing, and massive heat waves have hit the United States.

Parts of North America are some 10C above seasonal average this month, and smoke from wildfires blankets Canada and the US East Coast in a dangerous haze, with carbon emissions estimated at a record 160 million metric tons.

In India, one of the most vulnerable areas of the climate, deaths are reported to have risen as a result of persistently high temperatures, and extreme heat has been recorded in Spain, Iran and Vietnam, raising fears that last year’s deadly summer may become routine.

Countries agreed in Paris in 2015 to try to keep the long-term temperature rise within 1.5C, but there is a 66% chance that the annual increase will exceed the 1.5C threshold for at least one year between now and 2027, Global. The Climate Summit is forecast in May.

‘QUADRUPLE WHAMMY’

Higher land temperatures are matched by those over the ocean, with increased warming due to the El Nino phenomenon and other factors.

Globally average sea surface temperatures hit 21C in late March and were at record levels for the time of year throughout April and May. The Australian Meteorological Agency warned that Pacific and Indian Ocean temperatures could be 3C warmer than normal by October.

Global warming is a major factor, says Piers Forster, professor of climate physics at the University of Leeds, but El Nino, a reduction in Saharan dust blowing over the ocean and the use of low-sulphur fossil fuels are also to blame.

“So all in all, the strings are being hit by a quadruple whammy,” he said. “It’s a sign of things to come.”

Thousands of dead fish wash up on Texan beaches and tropical algal blooms have also been blamed for killing sea lions and whales in California.

Warmer oceans can also mean less wind and rain, creating a vicious cycle that leads to even more heat, said Annalisa Bracco, a climate scientist at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Although this year’s high ocean temperatures are due to a “perfect combination” of circumstances, the ecological impact is likely to persist, he said.

“The ocean will have a very slow response as it accumulates (heat) slowly but also stores it for a long time.”

THE ROAD TO DUBAI

Climate experts say the scale and frequency of extreme weather is increasing, and this year has also seen droughts suffer across the world, as well as deadly hurricanes in Africa.

The Global Fund for Nature, however, warned of a “distancing lack of impact” during climate talks in Bonn this month, with little progress being made on key issues such as fossil fuels and finance ahead of the talks. – COP28 date of November in Dubai.

“It’s very isolated from what’s happening outside the house in Bonn – that’s very sad to me,” said Li Shuo, Greenpeace’s senior climate adviser in Beijing.

“We are really entering an era of truth… I hope that plain truth will help us change people’s behavior and change politics.”

Talks between the United States and China could resume next week with US climate envoy John Kerry set to visit Beijing, although few are hopeful of adding momentum to the climate negotiations.

“This is more of a trust exercise,” Li said. “I don’t think either side will be able to push the other side to say much more than they want to – politics won’t allow that.”