Plus: What does Europe's shift to right means for climate goals?
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Welcome to The Independent's weekly round-up on the climate crisis, and the solutions to tackle it. Thanks for reading - SM |
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From top left clockwise: A Pakistan's military helicopter carrying water try to extinguish a fire that erupted near Faisal Mosque amid rising temperatures during a hot summer day in Islamabad;
A lion licks a frozen treat in its enclosure at the Chapultepec Zoo as staff work to keep the animals cool; Farmers perform a ritual as part of prayers for rain and good crop in a festival in East India amid sweltering heat (Credit: AP, AFP via Getty Images, AFP via Getty Images) |
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Last month was confirmed to be the hottest-ever May on record, in terms of global average temperatures, completing an entire calendar year of month-by-month records.
The average temperature last month was 1.52C above the pre-industrial average, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service, known as C3S.
The average global temperature for the 12-month period to the end of May was 1.63C (2.9F) above the pre-industrial average – making it the hottest such period since record-keeping began in 1940, the service added.
"It is shocking but not surprising that we have reached this 12-month streak," said Carlo Buontempo, director of C3S, which is backed by the European Union.
This 12-month average does not mean that the world has yet surpassed the 1.5C (2.7F) global warming threshold, which describes a temperature average over decades, beyond which scientists warn of more extreme and irreversible impacts.
However, an entire year-long streak of monthly highs is worrying, and drew stark warnings from the United Nations chief and climate experts.
Speaking about the findings, UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres emphasised how quickly the world was heading in the wrong direction and away from stabilising its climate system.
"In 2015, the chance of such a breach was near zero," said Mr Guterres in a speech marking World Environment Day.
"We need an exit ramp off the highway to climate hell," he said, adding: "The battle for 1.5C will be won or lost in the 2020s."
In a separate report, the UN's World Meteorological Organization (WMO) predicted there is an 80 per cent chance that average global temperatures will surpass the 1.5C target laid out in the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement within the next five years.
Meanwhile, the impact of the searing heat on the ground has continued to make the lives of millions of people hell.
In India, which is seeing its third consecutive year of record-shattering heatwaves, activists say the death toll from heatstrokes is far higher than what the government data shows.
Sunil Kumar Aledia, founder of Centre for Holistic Development (CHD) who has been working with the Delhi's homeless population for over a decade, told The Independent that at least 400 people have died on the streets of the national capital this summer.
A report published by ClimaMeter, a research project funded by the European Union and the French National Centre for Scientific Research, also found that the heatwaves this year were made at least 1.5C hotter in the country due to man-made climate crisis.
Delhi's residents remain without sufficient water, with the top court of India stepping in to order neighbouring Himachal Pradesh to supply excess water to the capital.
The deadly heat is also affecting the animals. Dozens of monkeys trying to quench their thirst drowned in a well in eastern India's Jharkhand after heatwaves dried up many water bodies.
Animals are also suffering extreme tempatures in Mexico, where a heat dome has blocked clouds from forming.
More climate news this week from The Independent
Does the European Parliament's shift to the right threaten EU climate goals?
Starmer facing calls to 'be clear' on climate as new poll warns half of voters unsure of Labour's plans
Toddler killed and mother injured as tornado sends tree crashing into their home in Detroit area
New 'cheap and easy' method could make upstream swim easier for endangered eels
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"For the past year, every turn of the calendar has turned up the heat. Our planet is trying to tell us something. But we don't seem to be listening." |
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Life in the climate crisis |
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