The northern summer of 2023 was the hottest ever

This might not come as news for those who lived through it, but the northern hemisphere summer has been confirmed as the hottest ever, according to The Guardian. June, July and August had an average global temperature of 16.77 degrees Celsius, 0.29 degrees warmer than the previous record in 2019. Those months were also about 1.5 degrees warmer than the pre-industrial average, which if sustained would mean that the lower limit of the Paris Agreement had already been breached.

The summer has been marred by heatwaves, fires and floods across Europe, Asia and North America. Most concerningly, the events of the last three months could come to be seen as normal if global warming continues unabated. Let’s hope instead it is a wake up call for governments as they prepare for COP 28 in the UAE later this year.

Listen to the thoughts of the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres: