February Records 'Unprecedented', Highest Global Temperature Increase
The last ten months has seen global temperature not just continuing to rise by hundredths or tenths of degrees, but the month of February is the tenth month to set a new record consecutively. Global temperature reached an "unprecedented" 2.18 degrees increase above the average temperature, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) tweeted. It was the warmest month ever recorded in 137 years of record keeping, based on data released both by the NOAA, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Thursday.
Dr. Alan Finkel, Australia's chief scientist, declares on ABC that the planet is fighting a "losing battle" over climate change. He warns, "You wouldn't want to dismiss it. There is genuine reason for concern," during ABC's Q&A program, which focused on science.
Meteorologist Jeff Masters clarifies that July 2015 is actually the hottest month on record, but February was exceptional because it was 1.35C hotter than the long-term average, while July was only 0.75C hotter than average.
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The rise in temperature is attributed to a powerful El Niño, a warming trend in the Pacific Ocean, one of the strongest ever recorded, according to NASA. This gives up more heat into the atmosphere, thus raising global temperatures.
However, it is not just El Niño alone that is causing the rising temperatures. The rise in carbon dioxide emissions and other human-made emissions have contributed greatly to the situation. As Masters and co-author Bob Henson, who write in the Weather Underground blog, say "This result is a true shocker, and yet another reminder of the incessant long-term rise in global temperature resulting from human-produced greenhouse gases."
According to Professor Stefan Rahmstorf of the Potsdam Institute of Climate Impact Research, the warming is "completely unprecedented."
He says, "We are in a kind of climate emergency now. Governments have promised to act and they need to do better than what they promised in Paris."
