Last week, Italy reached temperatures that reached 48.8 degrees, which are the highest recorded in Europe. And in Spain we are still in the heat of the heat wave, although it is already beginning to subside. These temperatures fall within the normal in summer. Except that are getting higher and a consequence of climate change. And this is demonstrated by the records of last July, which has been the hottest on Earth.
July has been the hottest month on Earth since we have records, according to a release of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In this way, this July 2021 gets ahead of the other three years that shared the title of hottest on record (they were tied), which were 2016, 2019 and 2020.
And no, neither high temperatures nor heat waves are news to celebrate. Because what it really means is that climate change is practically on our heels. This new high temperature milestone “adds to the haunting and disturbing trajectory that climate change has marked for the planet, “he said in the statement Rick spinrad, director of NOAA.
Climate change is here
Climate change is a complex phenomenon; but we know that human behavior with the burning of fossil fuels is speeding up the temperature rises that until now were natural and cyclical. The problem? The survival of the human species, mainly. We know that animals evolve little by little, so they can get used to the new weather very slowly. However, Earth is experiencing temperature rises, as the records show, so fast that we will not have time to acclimatize. In fact, every year we see more deaths from heat waves.
“Climate change is a problem that is already here. No one is safe, and it is getting worse faster, “he said. Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program, at a press conference on August 9.
Waves of heat and cold, increasingly frequent
“Almost all regions of the world, except the polar regions, have experienced an increase in extreme heat events since the 1950s, “notes a new United Nations report that cites The Verge. This means that the extreme heat, like the extreme cold that we have already started to see with Filomena, will be part of our daily lives if we do not act for real.
This July is nothing but yet another proof of climate change and what will come if we do nothing. So in case anyone needed more evidence, climate change hot on our heels and we have very little time to do a good maneuver to get us out of this. Unfortunately, the summer is not over yet. In fact, these days we are already experiencing a heat wave that leaves behind quite high temperatures. And if July has already broken records, we better not think yet about what August will bring us.