2023 has emerged as the hottest year on record, signaling a critical juncture in the climate crisis and exposing the inadequacy of global efforts to address it. James Hansen, a former NASA scientist, warns that this year marks a stark realization of governments’ failure to curb accelerating global warming. Despite nearly three decades since Hansen’s groundbreaking Senate testimony on global heating, political responses remain tepid compared to the urgency of scientific warnings. The United Nations Cop28 summit’s lackluster outcome contrasts sharply with the escalating climate impacts, including record-breaking temperatures, extreme weather events, and environmental disasters.
As the world experiences temperatures 1.5°C above preindustrial levels, scientists like Johan Rockström from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research express alarm at the unprecedented rate of climate occurrences. The Earth’s response to human pressures is shifting towards a “payback” mode, with extreme consequences. The Antarctic region is witnessing dramatic changes, with record low sea ice and unexpected rainfall events.
Hansen believes a generational leadership shift offers hope, as young people may recognize the need to steer the future away from disaster. However, without radical and rapid change, the “anomaly” of 2023’s heat and catastrophes could soon become the new norm, embedding failure into the climate system.
Disastrous events included flash flooding in Africa and wildfires in Europe and North America
Source: World will look back at 2023 as year ‘humanity exposed its inability to tackle climate crisis’, scientists warn | Climate crisis | The Guardian
… Data released by the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) earlier this month revealed that every month from June to November broke global heat records. …
Source: 2023 is going to be the hottest year on record. How are Europe’s cities planning to adapt?