Another record has been broken.
Another hottest month. Another hottest ocean. Another heat wave that would have been extraordinarily unlikely without climate change. Another drought. Another wildfire season. Another chart whose line suddenly shoots above everything that came before it.
So many records are being broken so often, I often worry the public is becoming numb to the message and the urgency of confronting this crisis.
So let’s strip away the charts for a moment and talk about what actually matters.
The planet is extremely hot right now. The oceans are even more alarming. And one of the strongest El Niño events scientists have ever observed is developing on top of all of it.
That last part is important, because El Niño isn’t causing climate change.
Think of climate change as steadily raising the floor beneath us. El Niño is temporarily jumping on top of the roof.
And that combination could make the next year extraordinary.
Climate Central scientist Dr. Zachary Labe summed up the situa…
