International
Second hottest July breaks 13-month record streak, EU scientists say
BRUSSELS — Last month was the second hottest July for the planet on record, breaking a 13-month period when each month was warmest, which had been in part fuelled by the warming El Nino weather pattern, the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change
The month was 1.48 deg C above the pre-industrial reference of 1850 to 1990, Copernicus said in a monthly report, while the last 12 months were 1.64 deg C above the pre-industrial average due to climate change.
July also recorded the two hottest days on record.
Copernicus attributes the high temperatures largely to greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel-based industries, and noted that oceans not normally impacted by El Nino saw an unusual rise in temperatures.
“This El Nino has ended but (with) this magnitude of global temperature rises, the big picture is quite similar to where we were a year ago,” Julien Nicolas, a climate researcher with Copernicus, told Reuters.
“We are not done with temperature records causing heatwaves... We know this long-term warming trend can be with a very high level of confidence related to the human impact on climate.”
