A new report by a team of international climate scientists shows the staggering amount of extreme heat days each country across the globeIt comes as the world hits an alarming climate milestone, with data showing last month was the hottest May on record, marking what has now been 12 consecutive months of unprecedented global heat.
To better understand what has played out on the ground during those record months, a team of researchers from Climate Central, in collaboration with Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre and World Weather AttributionUsing real-time climate attribution methods, they were also able to say how many days were made more likely by climate change.
"Different countries are each having their own story, and that's one of the things we tried to highlight in the report," Dr Pershing said. While the report only looked at days of extreme heat, Dr Pershing said they had also seen the impact of global warming play out in intense rainfall and drought events.
The hot May means the past 12 months are now also a record at 1.63C above pre-industrial levels, and ensures that, on its current trajectory, 2024 is now likely to surpass 2023 as the warmest year on record unless an unexpected rapid cooling occurs during the coming months. The onset of El Niño, in particular, has been flagged as one of the major year-to-year climate drivers that has helped boost global temperatures into record territory.