Science Warns of Rising Heat in 2024.
Last year brought more heat than ever before. People who study the weather say these high marks break records going back hundreds of years.
Earth heated up more than planned in 2024. Most say we need to use less oil and gas. Yet the world has cut its fuel use just once - when Covid kept everyone home.
Big changes must happen fast. The world needs to burn less fuel each year—right away. The signs show dangers, but people move slowly. Even when storms hit hard, like in the Philippines last fall, many stay quiet.
Something strange happened in June 2023. The Earth got much warmer very fast. The heat jumped up by an amount that should have taken ten years. Bad weather followed - wild storms, huge fires, floods, and more heat waves struck around the world.
At first, scientists stayed quiet. They did not know what made Earth heat up faster. But they felt scared. Most people did not share their fear.
NASA found an answer late last year. The clouds above Earth grew thinner, and more sun reached the ground. But questions remain. Will this quick rise in heat stay? Might it speed up more?
The crisis stands here already. Many reports try to calm fears. They say Earth has not passed the point of no return. The heat sits above safe marks, but some think we can fix things.
These soft words hide hard facts. Weather experts often look at twenty years of temps to find the real heat level. But Earth keeps getting warmer. The old numbers paint a kinder picture than what we see today.
Leaders in weather science speak the plain truth. "These trends spell trouble," says Bjorn Stevens from Max Planck Institute. His team hopes the warming slows down soon.
The world cannot cut fuel use fast enough to help right away. Building wind and solar power takes time. But other fixes might work faster. Planes could spray stuff high up to block some sun, and ships could make more clouds above the sea.
But talk moves slowly. The action moves slower. Meanwhile, the Earth keeps heating up.
Last year brought more heat than ever before. People who study the weather say these high marks break records going back hundreds of years.
Earth heated up more than planned in 2024. Most say we need to use less oil and gas. Yet the world has cut its fuel use just once - when Covid kept everyone home.
Big changes must happen fast. The world needs to burn less fuel each year—right away. The signs show dangers, but people move slowly. Even when storms hit hard, like in the Philippines last fall, many stay quiet.
Something strange happened in June 2023. The Earth got much warmer very fast. The heat jumped up by an amount that should have taken ten years. Bad weather followed - wild storms, huge fires, floods, and more heat waves struck around the world.
At first, scientists stayed quiet. They did not know what made Earth heat up faster. But they felt scared. Most people did not share their fear.
NASA found an answer late last year. The clouds above Earth grew thinner, and more sun reached the ground. But questions remain. Will this quick rise in heat stay? Might it speed up more?
The crisis stands here already. Many reports try to calm fears. They say Earth has not passed the point of no return. The heat sits above safe marks, but some think we can fix things.
These soft words hide hard facts. Weather experts often look at twenty years of temps to find the real heat level. But Earth keeps getting warmer. The old numbers paint a kinder picture than what we see today.
Leaders in weather science speak the plain truth. "These trends spell trouble," says Bjorn Stevens from Max Planck Institute. His team hopes the warming slows down soon.
The world cannot cut fuel use fast enough to help right away. Building wind and solar power takes time. But other fixes might work faster. Planes could spray stuff high up to block some sun, and ships could make more clouds above the sea.
But talk moves slowly. The action moves slower. Meanwhile, the Earth keeps heating up.
