Last summer was “by far” the warmest ever measured worldwide, report the World Meteorological Organization and Copernicus, the climate bureau of the European Union. The temperature on earth averaged 16.77 degrees in the months of June, July and August, which is 0.66 degrees higher than the average in the years 1991 to 2020.
Worldwide, scientists cite the combustion of coal, oil and natural gas and El Niño, a temporary warming of parts of the Pacific Ocean, as the main causes of the temperature increase.
Greenhouse gas and El Nino
Copernicus director Samantha Burgess points to the “overwhelming scientific evidence” for climate change in a reaction to the figures. “We will continue to see climate records and an increase in extreme weather events, impacting society and ecosystems, until we stop emitting greenhouse gases,” she warns.
KNMI climate expert Peter Siegmund is also concerned about the latest figures. “These three months are head and shoulders above the rest. Even without the effect of El Niño, the average temperature worldwide is rising. It is also remarkable that the warmest month ever measured was last July. And August was the second warmest month.”
Although many people in the Netherlands probably did not experience this summer as particularly hot, it was still a “very warm and sunny summer”, the KNMI reported last week. The average temperature in the Netherlands was 18.4 degrees Celsius.
That is almost a degree warmer than the long-term average of 17.5 degrees. This puts the summer in the top 10 of warmest summers since measurements began. This was mainly due to the sunny month of June.
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