Earth’s 120,000-Year Heat Record Shattered, Finds Study
Climate Change Countercurrents Collective, 10-07-2023 Earth is experiencing unprecedented heat waves, with record-breaking temperatures being observed.The University of Maine’s Climate Reanalyzer reported that Earth broke the record for its hottest day in 120,000 years three times in the past week. These extreme temperatures are expected to continue as El Niño intensifies, adding more heat to the Earth’s system.The climate scientists are confident in these assertions based on observations showing that temperatures in the past decade have been the warmest since the 1800s. Analysis of proxy data, such as tree rings and ice cores, indicates that Earth’s average temperature has not been this warm since the end of the ice age 20,000 years ago.The current rate of warming has been unparalleled in the past 20,000 years, with Earth’s average temperature rising by 1.2 degrees Celsius (2 degrees Fahrenheit) since the Industrial Revolution. Astonishingly, humans are projected to cause the same amount of warming in just 200 years through burning fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions, which is 50 times faster than the natural warming rate after the last ice age. According to studies, the period between 10,000 years ago and the present has experienced relatively stable temperatures, allowing human civilizations to thrive. However, if carbon emissions are not curbed, Earth is expected to warm by another degree by mid-century, similar to the temperatures during the last interglacial period 125,000 years ago. If emissions continue unabated, the world may experience the hottest temperatures in over one million years by the end of the century.The heat waves are not limited to specific regions, but have become a global phenomenon. This year has already seen severe, record heatwaves roil places from Puerto Rico to Siberia to Spain, while blistering heat in Canada helped spur huge wildfires that blotted the skies above New York City and Washington with toxic smoke last week.In the U.S., Texas and the southwest are enduring a searing heatwave, with over 120 million Americans under heat advisories, studies show. The UK experienced its hottest June on record, surpassing the previous record by 0.9 degrees Celsius. North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia are also witnessing unprecedented hot weather. https://countercurrents.org/