Heat waves in southern Europe and the USA, heated seas, little ice in the Antarctic: is something tipping over there – or is the escalation just what you had to reckon with? What climate researchers say.
You don’t have to look far to find climate extremes right now: heat waves in Spain, Italy, Greece and the southern United States, floods in India. June was the hottest month ever recorded on Earth, with the hottest week and hottest days recorded in early July. In Antarctica, where it is currently winter, a fifth of the usual ice surface at this time of year is missing. The climate crisis suddenly seems to escalate worldwide, heavy rain events, storms, droughts, heat, forest fires.