Summer of 2023 was hottest in 2,000 years, study finds
LA TimesAn extreme summer marked by deadly heat waves, explosive wildfires and record warm ocean temperatures will go down as among the hottest in the last 2,000 years, new research has found. Notably, Copernicus found that the summer months of June, July and August last year measured 1.18 degrees warmer than average — still hot, but not nearly as warm as the study’s findings for the Northern Hemisphere’s extra-tropical region. But although last year’s heat was undeniable, the study also underscores that the summer temperature in this region was notably higher than the global target of 2.7 degrees — or 1.5 degrees Celsius — of warming over the preindustrial period, which was established by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2015. “This is just a policy goal that gives you a temperature change that maybe would be consistent with averting some damages.” In fact, the study’s publication comes days after a survey of 380 leading scientists from the IPCC revealed deep concerns about the world’s ability to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. “But if anything, I think that really results in a stronger sense of resolve and urgency to do even more, and to do better.” Indeed, while scientists continue to weigh in on whether — or how quickly — humanity can alter the planet’s worsening warming trajectory, Esper said he hopes the latest study will serve as motivation for changing outdated modes of energy consumption that contribute to planet-warming greenhouse gases.