Global Warming is Speeding Up – And Scientists Are Shocked
The first half of 2016 has been so hot that it’s taken scientists completely by surprise, according to the director of the World Climate Research Programme said.
Climate change seems to be speeding up – as June marks the 14th straight month of record heat, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said last week.
Temperatures recorded mainly in the northern hemisphere in the first six months of the year, coupled with an early and fast Arctic sea ice melt and “new highs” in heat-trapping carbon dioxide levels, point to quickening climate change, it said.
In a further announcement on Tuesday, the U.N. agency said it would examine whether a temperature of 54 degrees Celsius reported in Kuwait last Thursday was a new high for the eastern hemisphere and Asia.
‘What concerns me most is that we didn’t anticipate these temperature jumps,’ said David Carlson, director of the WMO’s climate research programme, late on Monday.
‘We predicted moderate warmth for 2016, but nothing like the temperature rises we’ve seen.
‘Massive temperature hikes, but also extreme events like floodings, have become the new norma. The ice melt rates recorded in the first half of 2016, for example – we don’t usually see those until later in the year.”
He said sudden temperature rises could endanger people, animals and water systems.
‘Also critical is the fact that people survive the heat by using more energy for cooling, thus further depleting the world’s resources.’
