The daily average temperature was .08 degrees Fahrenheit higher than any week in 44 years of record-keeping, according to data from the University of Maine’s Climate Reanalyzer.
The sweltering heat is blanketing the planet, and the past seven days have been the hottest week on record, the latest grim milestone in a series of climate-change-driven extremes.
Earth’s average temperature on Wednesday remained at an unofficial record high set the day before. And for the seven days ending Wednesday, the daily average temperature was .08 degrees Fahrenheit higher than any week in 44 years of record-keeping, according to data from the University of Maine’s Climate Reanalyzer, a tool that uses satellite data and computer simulations to measure the world’s condition.
The average global temperature for Tuesday and Wednesday was 62.9 degrees Fahrenheit. That follows a short-lived record set Monday, at 62.6 degrees Fahrenheit. The Climate Reanalyzer figures are unofficial but significant data and an indication that climate change is reaching uncharted territory.
“The situation we are witnessing now is the demonstration that climate change is out of control, and one reason more for increased ambition and increased justice,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said. “If we persist in delaying key measures that are needed, I think we are moving into a catastrophic situation, as the last two records in temperature demonstrate.”
“It’s certainly an alarming sign of the times,” said U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq, noting that the warming trend is a predicted consequence of nations not working fast enough to address climate change.
