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Fire and Rescue personnel run to move their truck as a bushfire burns next to a major road and homes on the outskirts of the town of Bilpin on December 19, 2019 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo: David Gray/Getty Images)
New data out Wednesday from federal and international scientists that confirmed 2019 was the second-warmest year on record and capped off the warmest decade on record underscores the scale of the global crisis, said climate advocates.
The temperature data was released in the U.S. by NOAA and NASA. The World Meteorological Organization, which consolidates analysis from NOAA and NASA as well as datasets from the U.K.'s Met Office and the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit, the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts and its Copernicus Climate Change Service, and the Japan Meteorological Agency, also issued its findings Wednesday.
"The decade that just ended is clearly the warmest decade on record," said Gavin Schmidt, director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies. "Every decade since the 1960s clearly has been warmer than the one before."
\u201c2019 was the second-hottest year since modern record keeping began. #NASA and @NOAA work together to track temperatures around the world and study how they change from year to year.\n\nLearn more via @NASAEarth: https://t.co/LB1DspomuG\u201d— NASA Goddard (@NASA Goddard) 1579111238
\u201c\u201cThe average global temperature has risen by about 1.1\u00b0C since the pre-industrial era and ocean heat content is at a record level. On the current path of CO2 emissions, we are heading towards a temperature increase of 3 to 5\u00b0C by the end of century\u201d WMO SG Petteri Taalas\u201d— World Meteorological Organization (@World Meteorological Organization) 1579105090
The agencies also drew attention to the record warmth from 2015-2019--a time frame that included warmest-year-on-the-books 2016, which, unlike 2019, included a strong El Nino event.
"The past five years have been the five warmest on record; the last decade has been the warmest on record: These are unquestionably alarming signs," said Jean-Noel Thepaut, director of ECMWF Copernicus.
The trajectory the Earth is headed in is leading towards even more dangerous levels of heating.
"On the current path of carbon dioxide emissions, we are heading towards a temperature increase of 3 to 5 degrees Celsius by the end of century," said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.
NOAA drew attention to a number of highlights from its latest global climate report:
2020 has heightened concerns over continued warming.
"The year 2020 has started out where 2019 left off--with high-impact weather and climate-related events," said Taalas. "Australia had its hottest, driest year on record in 2019, setting the scene for the massive bushfires which were so devastating to people and property, wildlife, ecosystems, and the environment."
"Unfortunately," he continued, "we expect to see much extreme weather throughout 2020 and the coming decades, fueled by record levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere."
Advocacy group 350 Canada, in a tweet, said the need for urgent action to address the climate crisis, including Green New Deal legislation and making those most responsible pay, is clear.
"Last decade was the hottest on record. And 2020 is starting off with climate impacts of an unimaginable scale," the group said. "That is why this decade we make the fossil fuel industry pay for climate justice and fight like hell for a #GreenNewDeal."
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
New data out Wednesday from federal and international scientists that confirmed 2019 was the second-warmest year on record and capped off the warmest decade on record underscores the scale of the global crisis, said climate advocates.
The temperature data was released in the U.S. by NOAA and NASA. The World Meteorological Organization, which consolidates analysis from NOAA and NASA as well as datasets from the U.K.'s Met Office and the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit, the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts and its Copernicus Climate Change Service, and the Japan Meteorological Agency, also issued its findings Wednesday.
"The decade that just ended is clearly the warmest decade on record," said Gavin Schmidt, director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies. "Every decade since the 1960s clearly has been warmer than the one before."
\u201c2019 was the second-hottest year since modern record keeping began. #NASA and @NOAA work together to track temperatures around the world and study how they change from year to year.\n\nLearn more via @NASAEarth: https://t.co/LB1DspomuG\u201d— NASA Goddard (@NASA Goddard) 1579111238
\u201c\u201cThe average global temperature has risen by about 1.1\u00b0C since the pre-industrial era and ocean heat content is at a record level. On the current path of CO2 emissions, we are heading towards a temperature increase of 3 to 5\u00b0C by the end of century\u201d WMO SG Petteri Taalas\u201d— World Meteorological Organization (@World Meteorological Organization) 1579105090
The agencies also drew attention to the record warmth from 2015-2019--a time frame that included warmest-year-on-the-books 2016, which, unlike 2019, included a strong El Nino event.
"The past five years have been the five warmest on record; the last decade has been the warmest on record: These are unquestionably alarming signs," said Jean-Noel Thepaut, director of ECMWF Copernicus.
The trajectory the Earth is headed in is leading towards even more dangerous levels of heating.
"On the current path of carbon dioxide emissions, we are heading towards a temperature increase of 3 to 5 degrees Celsius by the end of century," said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.
NOAA drew attention to a number of highlights from its latest global climate report:
2020 has heightened concerns over continued warming.
"The year 2020 has started out where 2019 left off--with high-impact weather and climate-related events," said Taalas. "Australia had its hottest, driest year on record in 2019, setting the scene for the massive bushfires which were so devastating to people and property, wildlife, ecosystems, and the environment."
"Unfortunately," he continued, "we expect to see much extreme weather throughout 2020 and the coming decades, fueled by record levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere."
Advocacy group 350 Canada, in a tweet, said the need for urgent action to address the climate crisis, including Green New Deal legislation and making those most responsible pay, is clear.
"Last decade was the hottest on record. And 2020 is starting off with climate impacts of an unimaginable scale," the group said. "That is why this decade we make the fossil fuel industry pay for climate justice and fight like hell for a #GreenNewDeal."
New data out Wednesday from federal and international scientists that confirmed 2019 was the second-warmest year on record and capped off the warmest decade on record underscores the scale of the global crisis, said climate advocates.
The temperature data was released in the U.S. by NOAA and NASA. The World Meteorological Organization, which consolidates analysis from NOAA and NASA as well as datasets from the U.K.'s Met Office and the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit, the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts and its Copernicus Climate Change Service, and the Japan Meteorological Agency, also issued its findings Wednesday.
"The decade that just ended is clearly the warmest decade on record," said Gavin Schmidt, director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies. "Every decade since the 1960s clearly has been warmer than the one before."
\u201c2019 was the second-hottest year since modern record keeping began. #NASA and @NOAA work together to track temperatures around the world and study how they change from year to year.\n\nLearn more via @NASAEarth: https://t.co/LB1DspomuG\u201d— NASA Goddard (@NASA Goddard) 1579111238
\u201c\u201cThe average global temperature has risen by about 1.1\u00b0C since the pre-industrial era and ocean heat content is at a record level. On the current path of CO2 emissions, we are heading towards a temperature increase of 3 to 5\u00b0C by the end of century\u201d WMO SG Petteri Taalas\u201d— World Meteorological Organization (@World Meteorological Organization) 1579105090
The agencies also drew attention to the record warmth from 2015-2019--a time frame that included warmest-year-on-the-books 2016, which, unlike 2019, included a strong El Nino event.
"The past five years have been the five warmest on record; the last decade has been the warmest on record: These are unquestionably alarming signs," said Jean-Noel Thepaut, director of ECMWF Copernicus.
The trajectory the Earth is headed in is leading towards even more dangerous levels of heating.
"On the current path of carbon dioxide emissions, we are heading towards a temperature increase of 3 to 5 degrees Celsius by the end of century," said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.
NOAA drew attention to a number of highlights from its latest global climate report:
2020 has heightened concerns over continued warming.
"The year 2020 has started out where 2019 left off--with high-impact weather and climate-related events," said Taalas. "Australia had its hottest, driest year on record in 2019, setting the scene for the massive bushfires which were so devastating to people and property, wildlife, ecosystems, and the environment."
"Unfortunately," he continued, "we expect to see much extreme weather throughout 2020 and the coming decades, fueled by record levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere."
Advocacy group 350 Canada, in a tweet, said the need for urgent action to address the climate crisis, including Green New Deal legislation and making those most responsible pay, is clear.
"Last decade was the hottest on record. And 2020 is starting off with climate impacts of an unimaginable scale," the group said. "That is why this decade we make the fossil fuel industry pay for climate justice and fight like hell for a #GreenNewDeal."