It’s getting hot in here
And this is having a devastating affect on the planet
The UK recorded its hottest ever temperature this week, at 40.3° Celsius
Global temperatures have been rising for the past 100 years, with the effects of Climate Change becoming more widely understood (and accepted) in recent decades
Since 1880, average global temperatures have risen by 1.1°C, although the majority of this has come in the last 50 years (0.15–0.2°C per decade over this period)
While this might not seem a lot, the impact of this becomes more apparent once you dig into the detail. For example:
- 9 of the 10 hottest years on record have occurred in the last decade
- In 2021, average temperatures were 1.4°C warmer than average. February was the coolest month that year at only 1.1°C above average
- It’s been 45 years (1977) since the Earth had a cooler than average year
- One of the hottest ever temperatures recorded was in Death Valley, California in 2013 (54°C). The only other recordings that may have been hotter were also in Death Valley (57°C, 1913), Libya (58°C, 1922) and Kebili, Tunisia (55°C, 1931) - although the validity of these recordings have all been questioned
Average global temperatures have risen by 1.1° Celsius since 1880, although most of this has come in the last 50 years (0.15–0.2°C per decade over this period)
The impact this has is becoming more and more noticeable. In total, 5 million deaths per year could be attributed to abnormal temperatures - 9.4% of global deaths (although most of these are due to temperatures that were too cold, as opposed to too hot)
On top of this:
- 7 billion acres of land were burned in wildfires in the US in 2021, which followed the 10 billion acres burned in 2020 - the most devastating year on record
- Even in the UK, the number of large wild fires increased to 79 in 2018 and 137 in 2019 alone (from less than 100 in 2011–17 combined)
- Despite this, the UK is also getting wetter (who would have thought it was possible…), with the 2010s being 9% wetter than 1961–1990
And what will the world of the future look like in the future?
- According to the US Climate Science Special Report in 2017, a best case scenario would involve temperatures plateauing at 1.3°C above the 1900–1961 average (best case) by 2100, and the worst case scenario would see temperatures rising as high as 4°C above this same baseline
- Between 310 and 630 million people are estimated to be displaced by rising sea temperatures by the same year
- The area of inhospitable land (average daily temperatures above 29°C) would increase from 0.8% in 2020 to 19% by 2070
If you’d like to read more, check out some other GoodStats on the Environment:
Source: iNews; Earth Observatory; Climate.Gov; National Geographic UK; III; Monash.edu; Lamont Columbia; Earth Sky; Standard
