I don't know if you feel it, but the temperature on the earth is getting higher and higher, and it seems that every year is refreshing the all-time high.
According to the United Nations World Meteorological Organization, since the 1980s, every decade has been hotter than the last, and the average temperature from 2014 to 2023 has been 1.20 ± 0.12°C above pre-industrial levels.
Of these, 2023 was recognized as the hottest year on record, as the average annual temperature was 1.45 ± 0.12 °C above pre-industrial levels (1850-1900).
But in 2024, it seems to be even hotter!
Since July, temperatures have been higher in many countries around the world than in the same period.
In particular, the three days of July 21, 22 and 23 saw unprecedented heat around the world, and UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that July 21 was the hottest day on record.
According to preliminary data from the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service, the average global temperature reached 17.09 degrees Celsius, or 62.76 degrees Fahrenheit, on July 21.
Countries such as Kuwait, Iran, and Iraq have begun to experience high temperatures above 50 degrees Celsius.
From the hottest year on record, to the hottest day on record, extreme weather on Earth is becoming more frequent, which doesn't bode well.
It's clear that humanity is entering a truly uncharted territory, and as the climate continues to warm, we are set to see more new records in the years and decades to come.
And the driving force behind this consequence is precisely the greenhouse gases that have become notorious in recent years, or humanity itself.
As early as 24 years ago, the United Nations Panel on Climate Change proposed the concept of "climate tipping points" and delineated 15 tipping point markers, once breached, irreversible.
But in 2020, 9 of these 15 critical points have been activated, and the rest have become what people later called the "six critical points".
But judging from the current trend, there are only six critical points left, and mankind may not be able to hold them.
Imagine what the consequences would be for humanity once all 15 climate tipping points were breached.
The first is the global temperature abnormality, and the frequency of extreme weather will become more frequent and disorderly, and even no longer suitable for human survival.
Second, global warming will also bring a contradictory-sounding conclusion - entering the Xiaoice period.
Why does a warming climate have the opposite effect? This brings us to the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC).
The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, which acts as a conveyor belt, flows warm water from the tropics northward along the coast of northern Europe.
When reaching high latitudes and encountering colder Arctic waters, the warm current loses heat, lowers the temperature and becomes denser, causing the water column to sink to the bottom of the ocean.
The resulting deep currents then flow south along the coast of North America and continue to circulate around the world.
The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation is one of the 15 climatic tipping points, and it is one of the critical points that has been activated, and is on the verge of being breached.
Once the global climate continues to warm, the ice in the Arctic will dissolve at an accelerated rate, and a large amount of ice and ice meltwater will flow into the North Atlantic, causing the North Atlantic to reduce the temperature of the sea water, and the salinity will also be diluted, and eventually lead to the collapse of the AMOC.
Once the AMOC collapses, the result will be a much lower surface temperature across the Northern Hemisphere, and heat will be concentrated in the Southern Hemisphere, which also means that the Northern Hemisphere may enter the Xiaoice Period.
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