Global Heat Records Are Falling. A Little Panic Might Be in Order.
Soaring temperatures this spring should spur governments to finally live up to their pledges to curb fossil-fuel use.
Cause for alarm.
Photographer: Allen McInnis/Bloomberg
Modern humans generally think of panic as unhelpful, triggering stampedes at concerts, collapses at cookouts and endless hours of therapy. But our species evolved panic as a kind of superpower to avoid being eaten. In certain circumstances, and in measured doses, a little existential dread can still be helpful.
Take our rapidly changing climate. The planet could easily set a record-high average temperature in 2023, especially with an El Niño weather pattern kicking in later this year. We have already suffered through the hottest early June on record, with global land temperatures briefly touching 1.5C above the pre-industrial average. Ocean temperatures this spring have been the hottest ever at this time of year, in records going back 174 years.