Global high temperatues may be new normal, says Japanese climate expert
Global high temperatues may be new normal, says Japanese climate expert
A Japanese climate scientist says Earth may have entered a phase in which high temperatures caused by factors such as global warming are the new normal.
Dangerous heat levels have been continuing in Japan, and unusually hot weather is also being reported around the world.
The Japan Meteorological Agency says average global monthly temperatures have continued to renew year-on-year highs since May last year.
The temperature in June this year was 0.58 degrees Celsius higher than usual, and the highest in 133 years.
Average figures for July have yet to be released. But temperatures have been rising in Asia, Europe and North America, and abnormal weather is being observed.
In Canada, temperatures on some days in July were 10 degrees higher than usual.
Professor Nakamura Hisashi of the University of Tokyo Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology says Earth as a whole is becoming warmer due to climate change.
Nakamura says high pressure systems are jutting out in areas where westerlies have meandered north, causing sunny weather, rising temperatures and record heat.
The professor notes that the El Nino phenomenon with higher than normal ocean surface temperatures has continued in areas near the equator off Peru for about one year since early 2023. He says this has heated up the atmosphere, and caused temperatures to rise further in tropical to subtropical zones.
Nakamura says Earth may have entered a phase in which high temperatures rarely seen in the past are the new normal.
He says a La Nina phenomenon with lower than normal sea surface temperatures was observed off Peru, and this may slightly lower temperatures.
But Nakamura says the gradual rise in temperatures due to global warming cannot be denied. He warns that the heat is likely to continue in areas where westerlies meander north.
