2023 Likely to Be Warmest Year in Recorded History
2023-11-09
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1European researchers say a very hot October has put 2023 on a likely path to become the warmest year in recorded history.
2Last month, world temperatures beat a 2019 record for warmest October on record by 0.4 degrees, scientists from the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service announced.
3The EU agency issues monthly reports on climate observations across Europe.
4The latest October record nearly guarantees that 2023 will be the hottest year on record, said Copernicus deputy director Samantha Burgess.
5"The amount that we're smashing records by is shocking," Burgess told The Associated Press (AP).
6Scientists have long linked rising world temperatures to gases from the burning of fossil fuels.
7El Niño has also been warming ocean waters this year.
8El Niño is a warming of surface temperatures in the eastern and central Pacific Ocean.
9The event usually causes hot, dry weather in Asia and Australia and can drive weather changes in other parts of the world.
10The World Meteorological Organization has predicted the El Niño weather pattern will last until at least April 2024.
11Michael Mann is a climate scientist at the University of Pennsylvania.
12He told the AP that most El Niño years now become record-breakers because that climate event combines with rising temperatures linked to human causes.
13A warmer planet means more extreme and intense weather events like severe drought or hurricanes that hold more water, said Peter Schlosser.
14He is vice president of the Global Futures Laboratory at Arizona State University.
15Schlosser was not involved with the Copernicus report.
16"We better take this warning that we actually should have taken 50 years ago or more and draw the right conclusions," Schlosser said.
17He added that this means the world should expect more records to be broken as a result of that warming.
18But he questions whether the changes will come in smaller steps going forward.
19Schlosser noted Earth was already reaching temperatures above the 1.5 degrees Celsius target limit established by the Paris agreement on climate change.
20He said the latest observations are another sign there is an urgent need for action to help stop planet-warming pollution.
21"It's so much more expensive to keep burning these fossil fuels than it would be to stop doing it. That's basically what it shows," said Friederike Otto.
22She is a climate scientist at Imperial College London.
23"And of course, you don't see that when you just look at the records being broken and not at the people and systems that are suffering," Otto said.
24"But that... is what matters."
25The findings from Copernicus come three weeks before a United Nations meeting in the United Arab Emirates capital of Dubai, known as COP28.
26Delegates from nearly 200 countries will attend the gathering.
27They are seeking to negotiate stronger action to fight climate change.
28I'm Bryan Lynn.
1European researchers say a very hot October has put 2023 on a likely path to become the warmest year in recorded history. 2Last month, world temperatures beat a 2019 record for warmest October on record by 0.4 degrees, scientists from the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service announced. The EU agency issues monthly reports on climate observations across Europe. 3The latest October record nearly guarantees that 2023 will be the hottest year on record, said Copernicus deputy director Samantha Burgess. "The amount that we're smashing records by is shocking," Burgess told The Associated Press (AP). 4Scientists have long linked rising world temperatures to gases from the burning of fossil fuels. El Niño has also been warming ocean waters this year. 5El Niño is a warming of surface temperatures in the eastern and central Pacific Ocean. The event usually causes hot, dry weather in Asia and Australia and can drive weather changes in other parts of the world. 6The World Meteorological Organization has predicted the El Niño weather pattern will last until at least April 2024. 7Michael Mann is a climate scientist at the University of Pennsylvania. He told the AP that most El Niño years now become record-breakers because that climate event combines with rising temperatures linked to human causes. 8A warmer planet means more extreme and intense weather events like severe drought or hurricanes that hold more water, said Peter Schlosser. He is vice president of the Global Futures Laboratory at Arizona State University. Schlosser was not involved with the Copernicus report. 9"We better take this warning that we actually should have taken 50 years ago or more and draw the right conclusions," Schlosser said. He added that this means the world should expect more records to be broken as a result of that warming. But he questions whether the changes will come in smaller steps going forward. 10Schlosser noted Earth was already reaching temperatures above the 1.5 degrees Celsius target limit established by the Paris agreement on climate change. He said the latest observations are another sign there is an urgent need for action to help stop planet-warming pollution. 11"It's so much more expensive to keep burning these fossil fuels than it would be to stop doing it. That's basically what it shows," said Friederike Otto. She is a climate scientist at Imperial College London. "And of course, you don't see that when you just look at the records being broken and not at the people and systems that are suffering," Otto said. "But that... is what matters." 12The findings from Copernicus come three weeks before a United Nations meeting in the United Arab Emirates capital of Dubai, known as COP28. Delegates from nearly 200 countries will attend the gathering. They are seeking to negotiate stronger action to fight climate change. 13I'm Bryan Lynn. 14The Associated Press and Reuters reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English. 15______________________________________________________ 16Words in This Story 17fossil fuels - n. fuels such as coal, oil, or natural gas that are formed in the Earth from dead plants or animals 18drought - n. a long period of time during which there is very little or no rain 19draw a conclusion (about something) - phrase to consider the facts of a situation and make a decision about whether it is true, correct, likely to happen, etc. 20expensive - adj. costly