VOA新闻杂志2023--World Experiences Hottest-ever Days This Week

World Experiences Hottest-ever Days This Week

Two groups that follow the world's temperatures said July 3 and 4 were likely the hottest days since satellite records started in 1979.

Scientists at the University of Maine run a group called the Climate Reanalyzer. It uses computer models and satellite data to predict global temperatures. The model does not use real temperatures recorded in places around the world.

The U.S. National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NECP) are part of the National Weather Service. The group works to produce weather predictions and set quality levels for scientific measurement and research.

Both groups said the world's average temperature on July 3 surpassed¹ 17 degrees Celsius². An earlier high came in August 2016 when the temperature was 16.92 degrees Celsius. The Climate Reanalyzer said July 4 would have been hotter based on its computer prediction. The group said July 5 was almost as hot.

It showed temperatures in Antarctica, where it is winter, are 4.5 degrees Celsius higher than the average from 1979 to 2000, in some places.

Places in northern Canada, such as Quebec, and South America, including Peru, also reached new highs on July 3 and 4 compared to average temperatures.

American cities from the northwest to the southeast have been close to all-time highs in recent days compared to average temperatures, too. In Beijing, weather watchers report nine straight days recently where temperatures were over 35 degrees Celsius.

Stefan Rahmstorf is a climate scientist at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Research in Germany. He said the temperature increase linked to the burning of fossil³ fuels was predicted over 100 years ago. He then said: "It is dangerous for us humans and the ecosystems⁵ we depend on. We need to stop it fast."

Jason Furtado is a weather professor at the University of Oklahoma. He called temperature information from 2023 "truly unreal."

The Climate Reanalyzer project does not use the same climate data as the U.S. government's National Oceanic and Atmospheric⁶ Administration (known as NOAA). The recent number of higher-than-average temperatures for single days does not make an official record. However, it supports some scientists' ideas about temperature change. The Climate Reanalyzer information goes back to about 1979. That is when satellites first started to track daily temperatures.

NOAA's records from on-the-ground measurements go back to 1880.

Deke Arndt is director of NOAA's National Center for Environmental Information. He said NOAA will consider Climate Reanalyzer's information when it decides on official records.

He said the observation of a single day does not carry the same weight as a month or a year. However, he called 2023 "a warm piece of what will likely be a very warm era." He called the current warming event, known as El Nino, "robust⁷." He said human-caused warming only makes the El Nino event stronger.

The Reanalyzer team said the Earth's average temperature on July 4 was 17.18 degrees Celsius. That was about one degree Celsius warmer than the average from 1979 to 2000.

Chris Field is a climate scientist at Stanford University. He called the news "another piece of evidence...that global warming is pushing us into a hotter future."

People in the southern U.S., North Africa and China are currently⁸ experiencing heat waves, or several days with higher-than-average temperatures. A Ukrainian research base on an island near Antarctica reported a July record temperature with a reading of 8.7 degrees Celsius.

People often like to celebrate records. But Friederike Otto at the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment in London said, "this is not a milestone⁹ we should be celebrating."

Words in This Story

fossil fuel –n. energy in the form of gas, coal and oil that is taken from the ground and comes from the breakdown¹⁰ of old matter

ecosystem⁴ –n. everything that exists in an environment and how all those things interact¹¹

robust –adj. large and strong

1 surpassed   

v.超过( surpass的过去式和过去分词 )；优于；多于；非…所能办到

参考例句：

• This realization of our dreams surpassed even our wildest expectations. 我们梦想的实现甚至超越了我们最大胆的估计。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mao's fame surpassed well beyond the limits of China. 毛泽东的名声远远超越了中国国界。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

3 fossil   

n.化石，食古不化的人，老顽固

参考例句：

• At this distance of time it is difficult to date the fossil.时间隔得这么久了，很难确定这化石的年代。
• The man is a fossil.那人是个老顽固。

4 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。

5 ecosystems   

n.生态系统( ecosystem的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There are highly sensitive and delicately balanced ecosystems in the forest. 森林里有高度敏感、灵敏平衡的各种生态系统。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Madagascar's ecosystems range from rainforest to semi-desert. 马达加斯加生态系统类型多样，从雨林到半荒漠等不一而足。 来自辞典例句

6 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

7 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

8 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

9 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

10 breakdown   

n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌

参考例句：

• She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
• The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。

11 interact   

vi.相互作用，相互影响，互通信息

参考例句：

• All things are interrelated and interact on each other.一切事物互相联系并相互作用。
• The policeman advised the criminal to interact with the police.警察劝罪犯与警方合作。