Posted on 24 June 2023 by John Hartz

Story of the Week

Four alarming charts that show just how extreme the climate is right now

Soaring temperatures. Unusually hot oceans. Record high levels of carbon pollution in the atmosphere and record low levels of Antarctic ice.

We’re only halfway through 2023 and so many climate records are being broken, some scientists are sounding the alarm, fearing it could be a sign of a planet warming much more rapidly than expected.

In a widely shared tweet, Brian McNoldy, senior research associate at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric and Earth Science, called rising ocean and air temperatures “totally bonkers.”

He added, “people who look at this stuff routinely can’t believe their eyes. Something very weird is happening.”

Other scientists have said while the records are alarming, they are not unexpected due to both the continued rise of planet-heating pollution and the arrival of the natural climate phenomenon El Niño, which has a global heating effect.

Whether the broken records are a sign of climate change progressing beyond what climate the models predict, or are the outcome of the climate crisis unfolding as expected, they remain a very concerning signal of what’s to come, scientists said.

“These changes are deeply disturbing because of what they mean for people this coming summer, and every summer after, until we cut our carbon emissions at a much faster pace than we’re currently doing,” Jennifer Marlon, research scientist at Yale School of the Environment, told CNN.

The world is already 1.2 degrees Celsius warmer than it was in preindustrial times, and the next five years are predicted to be the hottest on record.

“We’ve been saying this for a long time – as polar scientists and as climate scientists – we’ve been saying you can count on the next few decades to consistently get warmer,” Ted Scambos, a glaciologist at the University of Colorado-Boulder, told CNN. “We’re not going to turn back until we actually do something about this.”

Here are four charts showing just how record-breaking this year has already been, with the hottest months still to come. 

Click here to access the entire article as originally posted on the CNN website.

Four alarming charts that show just how extreme the climate is right now by Rachel Ramirez, World, CNN June 17, 2020

Note: Embedded in the original version of this article on the CNN website is an excellent video featuring Professor Myles Allen of Cambridge University. 

Links posted on Facebook

Sun, Jun18, 2023

• Climate change: UN to unmask fossil fuel lobbyists at climate talks by Matt McGrath, Science, BBC News, June 16, 2023
• Love of the Land and Community Inspired the Montana Youths Whose Climate Lawsuit Against the State Goes to Court This Week by Richard Forbes. Justice, Inside Climate iNews, June 14, 2023
• New indicators will track climate change between IPCC reports by Dr Debbie Rosen and Prof Piers Forster, Guest Post, Carbon Brief, June 8, 202 3
• Climate change warning signs started in the 1800s. Here's what humanity knew and when. by Dinah Voyles Pulver, Nation, USA Today, June 10, 2023

Mon, June 19, 2023

• Inexpensive Solar Panels Are Essential for the Energy Transition. Here’s What’s Happening With Prices Right Now by  Dan Gearino, Inside Clean Energy, Inside Climate News, June 15, 2023
• Four alarming charts that show just how extreme the climate is right now by Rachel Ramirez, World, CNN June 17, 2023
• Climate Crisis Is on Track to Push One-Third of Humanity Out of Its Most Livable Environment by Abrahm Lustgarten, Environment, ProPublica, June 6, 2023
• Global ocean temperatures hit record level for April and May by Danny Halpin, Environment, The Independent (UK), June 16, 2023

Tue, June 20, 2023

• Climate crisis was predicted, but global warming is now entering uncharted territory by Kevin O'Sullivan, The Irish Times, June 19, 2023 
• ‘Unheard of’ marine heatwave off UK and Irish coasts poses serious threat by Helena Horton, Environment, The Guardian, June 19, 2023
• At a glance - Is Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth correct? by John Mason & Baerbel Winkler, Skeptical Science. June 20, 2023
• Climate change is scarring Europe, and southern countries most of all by Kevin O'Sullivan, Environment, Irish Times, June 19, 2023

Wed, June 21, 2023

• Himalayan glaciers could lose 80% of their volume< if global warming isn’t controlled, study finds by Sibi Arasu, AP News, June 20, 2023
• Young plaintiffs’ attorney closes Montana climate change trial with call for act by Amy Beth Hanson & Matthew Brown, AP News, June 20, 2023
• Is climate change outpacing our ability to predict extreme heatwaves? by Damien irving & James Risbey, Environment & Energy, The Conversation US, June 20, 2023
• UN’s climate work at risk, after EU limits budget increase by Joe Lo, Climate Home News, June 20, 2023

Thu, June 22, 2023

• Nearly half of recent climate pledges plan to keep extracting fossil fuels by Dr Natale Jones. Guest Post, Carbon Brief, June 15, 2023
• Global average sea and air temperatures are spiking in 2023, before El Niño has fully arrived. We should be very concerned by Steve Turton, Evironment & Energy, The Conversation AU, June 21, 2023
• International Conference on Climate Justice on June 28 and 29  by 
  Bärbel Winkler, Skeptical Science, June 21, 2023
• Rightwing war on ‘woke capitalism’ partly driven by fossil fuel interests and allies by Dharna Noor, US News, The Guardian, June 30, 2023
• Climate change leads to growing risk of mosquito-borne viral diseases, EU agency by Jan M Olsen. AP News, June 22, 2023

Fri, June 23, 2023

• The war is worsening the effects of climate change, Kerry says. by Steven Erlanger, World, New York Times, June 21, 2023
• Ecological tipping points could occur much sooner than expected, study finds by Jonathan Watts, Environment, The Guardian, June 22, 2023 
• Loss of fossil fuel assets would not impoverish general public, study find by Matthew Taylor, Environment, Guardian, June 22, 2023
• The oceans are changing because of climate change by Andrew Dressler, The Climate Brink, June 22, 2023

Sat, June 24, 2023

• Climate change may have stimulated plankton bloom behind Thai mass fish die-off: expert by Napat Wesshasartar, Environment, Reuters, June 23, 2023
• ‘Beyond extreme’ ocean heat wave in North Atlantic is worst in 170 years by Dan Stillman, Weather, Washington Post, June 23, 2023
• Texas heat wave is so bad, meteorologists are apologizing for it by Dan Stillman, Weather, Washington Post, June 23, 2023
• How heat waves form, and how climate change makes them worse by Umair Ifran , Climate, Vox, June23, 2023

If you happen upon high quality climate-science and/or climate-myth busting articles from reliable sources while surfing the web, please feel free to submit them via this Google form for possible inclusion on our Facebook page. Thanks!