The World Has Crossed the Critical Warming Point
On Friday, 17 November, the Earth's temperature briefly exceeded the critical point at which catastrophic and irreversible consequences for the planet and its ecosystems can occur. Samantha Burgess, deputy director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service in Europe, wrote about this on Twitter (X), according to CNN.
According to Burgess, the temperature was 2.06°C higher than in 1850-1900, when people had not yet begun to burn fossil fuels on a large scale, thus changing the Earth's natural climate.
"This was the first day when the global temperature was more than 2.06°C above the 1850-1900 level," she wrote.
Photo: The global temperature was more than 2.06°C above the 1850-1900 level. Source: Samantha Burgess on X
At the same time, the fact that the temperature has been 2.06°C above the level of the so-called pre-industrial period for some time does not mean that the world is in a permanent state of warming by more than 2°C, Burgess added.
However, crossing this line is already a sign that the planet is getting warmer and that the Earth's processes are moving towards irreversibility of the climate crisis.
The fact that on 17 November, the global temperature was on average 1.17°C higher than the 1991-2020 level makes it the warmest day on record, Burgess said.
Photo: The global temperature was on average 1.17°C higher than the 1991-2020 level. Source: Samantha Burgess on X
The Copernicus data is preliminary, and it will take weeks to confirm it with real-life observations, CNN notes.
The scientist, who was the first to draw the world's attention to the greenhouse effect back in the 1980s, warned that global warming had accelerated and that humanity was in the early stages of a climate emergency.
A study by the British Antarctic Survey shows that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet will continue to melt no matter how much the world reduces emissions that cause the planet to heat up.
As The Gaze previously reported, this summer, the Cerberus heat wave hit Europe. Italy and Greece have declared extremely dangerous weather conditions for the health of locals and tourists, as temperatures rose to a record 50 degrees Celsius during the day. Italian authorities have declared an "exceptional" health risk in 16 cities, including Rome and Florence.
This heat wave has been dubbed the "Cerberus" heatwave after the mythological three-headed creature from Dante's Inferno. A total of 16 cities in Italy have been issued a red alert due to the heatwave as the Mediterranean country experiences an incredible rise in temperature.