
-
Syria says deadly Israeli strikes a 'blatant violation'
-
Financial markets tumble after Trump tariff announcement
-
Starbucks faces new hot spill lawsuits weeks after $50mn ruling
-
Europe riled, but plans cool-headed response to Trump's tariffs
-
'Shenmue' voted most influential video game ever in UK poll
-
New coal capacity hit 20-year low in 2024: report
-
Revealed: Why monkeys are better at yodelling than humans
-
Key details on Trump's market-shaking tariffs
-
'A little tough love': Top quotes from Trump tariff talk
-
US business groups voice dismay at Trump's new tariffs
-
Grealish dedicates Man City goal to late brother
-
US tariffs take aim everywhere, including uninhabited islands
-
Trump sparks trade war with sweeping global tariffs
-
Israeli strikes hit Damascus, central Syria; monitor says 4 dead
-
Slot 'hates' offside rule that gave Liverpool win over Everton
-
US stocks end up, but volatility ahead after latest Trump tariffs
-
Barca oust Atletico to set up Clasico Copa del Rey final
-
Mourinho grabs Galatasaray coach's face after losing Istanbul derby
-
Grealish strikes early as Man City move up to fourth in Premier League
-
Reims edge out fourth-tier Cannes to set up PSG French Cup final
-
Liverpool beat Everton as title looms, Man City win without Haaland
-
Jota wins bad-tempered derby as Liverpool move 12 points clear
-
Inter and Milan level in derby Italian Cup semi
-
Stuttgart beat Leipzig to reach German Cup final
-
Trump unveils sweeping global tariffs
-
Italian director Nanni Moretti in hospital after heart attack: media
-
LIV Golf stars playing at Doral with Masters on their minds
-
Trump unveils sweeping 'Liberation Day' tariffs
-
Most deadly 2024 hurricane names retired from use: UN agency
-
Boeing chief reports progress to Senate panel after 'serious missteps'
-
Is Musk's political career descending to Earth?
-
On Mexico-US border, Trump's 'Liberation Day' brings fears for future
-
Starbucks faces new hot spill lawsuit weeks after $50mn ruling
-
Ally of Pope Francis elected France's top bishop
-
'Determined' Buttler leads Gujarat to IPL win over Bengaluru
-
US judge dismisses corruption case against New York mayor
-
Left-wing party pulls ahead in Greenland municipal elections
-
Blistering Buttler leads Gujarat to IPL win over Bengaluru
-
Tesla sales slump as pressure piles on Musk
-
Amazon makes last-minute bid for TikTok: report
-
Canada Conservative leader warns Trump could break future trade deal
-
British band Muse cancels planned Istanbul gig
-
'I'll be back' vows Haaland after injury blow
-
Trump to unveil 'Liberation Day' tariffs as world braces
-
New coach Edwards adamant England can win women's cricket World Cup
-
Military confrontation 'almost inevitable' if Iran nuclear talks fail: French FM
-
US stocks advance ahead of looming Trump tariffs
-
Scramble for food aid in Myanmar city near quake epicentre
-
American Neilson Powless fools Visma to win Across Flanders
-
NATO chief says alliance with US 'there to stay'

2023 likely to be hottest year on record
2023 is likely to be the hottest year in human history, and global temperatures during the Northern Hemisphere summer were the warmest on record, the EU climate monitor said on Wednesday.
Heatwaves, droughts and wildfires struck Asia, Africa, Europe and North America over the last three months, with dramatic impact on economies, ecosystems and human health.
The average global temperature in June, July and August was 16.77 degrees Celsius (62.19 degrees Fahrenheit), surpassing the previous 2019 record of 16.48C by a wide margin, the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said in a report.
"The three months that we've just had are the warmest in approximately 120,000 years, so effectively human history," C3S deputy director Samantha Burgess told AFP.
Last month was the hottest August on record and warmer than all other months except July 2023.
"Climate breakdown has begun," said UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, echoing famous testimony before the US Congress 35 years ago, in which government scientist James Hansen declared that global warming had begun.
"Our climate is imploding faster than we can cope," Guterres added.
Also on Wednesday, the World Meteorological Organization warned that more frequent and intense heatwaves are generating a "witch's brew" of air pollution that shortens human lifespans and damages other life forms.
"Heatwaves worsen air quality, with knock-on effects on human health, ecosystems, agriculture and indeed our daily lives," WMO chief Petteri Taalas said in a statement.
Record-high global sea surface temperatures played a major role in stoking heat throughout the summer, with marine heatwaves hitting the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea.
"Looking at the additional heat we have in the surface ocean, the probability is that 2023 will end up being the warmest year on record," Burgess said.
If the Northern Hemisphere has a "normal" winter, "we can almost virtually say that 2023 will be the warmest year that humanity has experienced," she added.
- Warming oceans -
Oceans have absorbed 90 percent of the excess heat produced by human activity since the dawn of the industrial age, according to scientists.
This excess heat continues to accumulate as greenhouse gases -- mainly from burning oil, gas and coal -- build up in the Earth's atmosphere.
Excluding the polar regions, global average sea surface temperatures exceeded the previous March 2016 record every day this summer from July 31 to August 31.
Warmer oceans are also less capable of absorbing carbon dioxide (CO2), exacerbating the vicious cycle of global warming as well as disrupting fragile ecosystems.
Antarctic sea ice remained at a record low for the time of year with a monthly value 12 percent below average, "by far the largest negative anomaly for August since satellite observations began" in the 1970s, C3S said.
Higher temperatures are likely on the horizon: the El Nino weather phenomenon -- which warms waters in the southern Pacific and beyond -- has only just begun.
Scientists expect the worst effects of the current El Nino to be felt at the end of 2023 and into next year.
- 'Wake up call' -
Scientists reacted strongly to the C3S report.
"2023 is the year that climate records were not just broken but smashed," said Mark Maslin, a professor of climatology at University College London.
"Extreme weather events are now common and getting worse every year -- this is a wake up call to international leaders."
"Global warming continues because we have not stopped burning fossil fuels -- it is that simple," said Friederike Otto, a climate scientist at Imperial College London.
At the 2015 Paris climate summit, countries agreed to keep global temperature increases to "well below" 2C above pre-industrial levels, with an aspirational target of 1.5C.
A "Global Stocktake" by UN experts due this week assessing the world's progress in meeting these goals will confirm that current national carbon-cutting commitments fall far, and would see Earth's surface warm 2.7C.
The C3S findings came from computer-generated analyses using billions of measurements from satellites, ships, aircraft and weather stations around the world.
Proxy data such as tree rings and ice cores allow scientists to compare modern temperatures with figures before records began in the mid-19th century.
X.Karnes--AMWN