KLIMAAT
De zomer van vorig jaar was de heetste in 2000 jaar
May 15, 2024 - The northern hemisphere heatwave in 2023, amplified by the El Niño climate pattern, was the warmest in some 2,000 years, new research published in Nature suggests.
The 2023 northern hemisphere heatwave, amplified by the El Niño climate pattern which fuelled European wildfires and melted highways in Texas, was the warmest in some 2,000 years, new research published in Nature suggests.
The stark findings were collated by studying modern weather statistics, meteorological records dating to the mid-1800s and temperature data based on analysis of ancient tree rings across nine northern sites.
Last summer’s average land temperature between 30°N and 90°N reached 2.07°C (3.73°F) higher than pre-industrial averages and, based on the tree ring data, were 2.2°C (4°F) warmer than the average temperature from years 1 to 1890.
Rising temperatures are hugely destructive, with more than 150,000 deaths in 43 countries attributed to heatwaves each year from 1990 to 2019 – that’s about 1% of global deaths or roughly equivalent to the death toll from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The authors of the paper believe their findings demonstrate the unparalleled nature of present-day warming and the need for urgent action to reduce carbon emissions.