World experienced hottest day on Tuesday
WASHINGTON – The world just experienced the hottest day ever recorded, with global average temperature reaching 17.18°C on Tuesday.
The temperature record was set just 24 hours after the previous record was set on Monday.
Heat waves have gripped the globe in recent weeks.
In China, temperatures soared above 40°C in some cities, while in India extreme heat has led to deaths in some of the country’s poorest regions.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has declared the onset of El Niño conditions, characterized by a warming of surface waters in the Pacific Ocean.
“The onset of El Niño will greatly increase the likelihood of breaking temperature records and triggering more extreme heat in many parts of the world and in the ocean,” WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said in a statement Tuesday.
“The declaration of an El Niño by WMO is the signal to governments around the world to mobilize preparations to limit the impacts on our health, our ecosystems, and our economies,” he said.
El Niño is known to increase the likelihood of extreme weather events such as heat waves, droughts and floods.
The WMO has warned that the world faces a “climate emergency” and urgent action is needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Jeni Miller, executive director of the California-based Global Climate and Health Alliance, says people around the world are already suffering from climate impacts.
She urges governments to prepare to achieve a commitment at COP28 to phase out all fossil fuels and make a just transition to renewable energy for all.
Friederike Otto, a climate scientist at the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment at Imperial College London in the U.K., says the hottest global temperature ever recorded “is “not a milestone we should be celebrating”
She adds that it is “a death sentence for humans and ecosystems”
Experts say this week’s record-breaking temperatures are a stark reminder that urgent action is needed. Governments must take bold steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make the transition to a clean energy future.