Signs that the Earth’s climate has entered uncharted territory

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By the Associated Press

July 6, 2023 | 10:03pm

As a warming Earth turned into new worry territory this week, scientists said the unofficial records set for the average planetary temperature were a clear sign of how pollutants released by humans are warming their environment. But the heat is also just one way the planet is telling us something is gravely wrong, they said.

Heat sets the pace for our climate in so many ways—it’s never just heat, said Kim Cobb, a climate scientist at Brown University.

Dying coral reefs, more intense Noreasters, and smoke from the wildfires that choked much of North America this summer are among many other signs of climate discomfort.

The increasing warming of our planet caused by the use of fossil fuels is not unexpected, but it is dangerous for us humans and the ecosystems on which we depend. We have to stop it, quickly, said Stefan Rahmstorf of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.

Some other recent firsts and events that indicate that climate change has entered uncharted territory:

Ocean warming

Most of the planet is covered by oceans, which have absorbed 90% of the recent warming caused by planet-warming gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. In April, global ocean temperatures rose to 69.98 degrees Fahrenheit (21.1 degrees Celsius), which was attributed to the combination of greenhouse gas emissions and the early formation of El Nino. Recently released data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service documented exceptionally warm ocean temperatures in the North Atlantic with extreme marine heatwaves near Ireland, the UK and in the Baltic Sea.

Fire smoke

Several rounds of wildfire smoke from northern Canada have brought dangerous levels of air quality to eastern North America. High smoke levels from wildfires have become familiar on the West Coast, but scientists say climate change will make fires and smoke more likely and intense, and the East Coast will see more of them.

El Nino comes early

The current El Nino, a period of warming Pacific Ocean waters, formed a month or two earlier than usual, replacing the La Nina which, with its cooling Pacific Ocean waters, acted as a dampener on global temperatures. This means that he will have more time than usual to strengthen. The World Meteorological Organization predicts that there is a 98% chance that at least one of the next five years will be the hottest on record, beating out 2016 when there was an exceptionally strong El Nino.

Antarctic sea ice shrinkage

Scientists are watching Antarctic sea ice shrink to historic lows. The 4.5 million square miles (11.7 million square kilometers) covered by the sheet on June 27 was nearly 1 million square miles (2.6 million square kilometers) less than the average for that date for the period 1981-2010, according to the National Snow and Ice Database.

In other words, an area nearly four times the size of Texas was gone from the ice sheet.