September shattered global heat record — and by a record margin
from WaPo
Global warmth surged far above previous records in September — even further than what scientists said seemed like astonishing increases in July and August, The Post’s Scott Dance reports.
The Earth’s average temperature shattered the previous September record by more than half a degree Celsius (0.9 degrees Fahrenheit), marking the largest monthly margin ever observed. Temperatures around the world last month reached levels closer to normal for July, according to early analyses from European and Japanese climate scientists. Zeke Hausfather, a climate scientist and climate lead for the payment company Stripe, called the September warming “absolutely gobsmackingly bananas.” |
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“We’ve never seen a record smashed by anything close to this margin,” Hausfather said in an email.
Scientists say the warmth stems from both human-caused climate change and the climate pattern El Niño, which appeared in June and could reach peak strength this winter. |