The planet reached a grim milestone this week: the Earth’s average temperature hit an unofficial record high twice, raising new concerns about climate change.
At least 37 million Americans have been under some heat alert throughout the past month.
Steven Hamburg, chief scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund, told Spectrum News, says he believes it’s “just another harbinger of what’s to come.”
Earth’s average temperature reached 62.9 degrees Fahrenheit on Tuesday, the highest such figure ever recorded, breaking a record set just a day earlier.
Hamburg says it’s another expected example of the impacts of climate change.
“We really need to recognize this isn’t something that’s going to go away; it’s going to get worse unless we do something dramatically,” he urged.
Heat waves in India, Mexico and China have left dozens of people dead. In the U.S., smoke from massive wildfires in Canada has added to the misery. Hamburg says that even if things calm down, new benchmarks are being set on a regular basis.
“Whether we do or don’t this year see an extreme summer with respect to temperature, it doesn’t change the pattern,” he said.
President Joe Biden has made combating climate change a focus of his presidency. The Inflation Reduction Act he signed into law last year includes the largest investment to fight climate change in U.S. history. But with a Republican-controlled House and a narrowly divided Senate, further climate legislation is unlikely.
“Is it fast enough from my standpoint as a scientist who has worked on this for numerous decades? No. But that’s a tall order. So, do we need to do more? Yes,” Hamburg said.
Hamburg says individuals can do their part by investing in affordable items like a heat pump that produces fewer emissions. But he says the world’s industrialized nations need to build on the small steps being taken so far.
