Last summer's sweltering heat broke more than city or regional or even national records. In what they call an 'alarming finding,' scientists say that in the Northern Hemisphere, the summer of 2023 was the hottest in 2,000 years. Global data already showed that last summer was the hottest on record.
'When you look at the big picture, it shows just how urgent it is that we reduce greenhouse gas emissions immediately.' Experts have long warned that the world needs to take action to try to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial times. Beyond that, the impacts of rising temperatures, including more frequent and intense droughts, hurricanes and floods, are expected to substantially worsen and drive global migrations, food scarcity and other issues.