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A cat finding shade under a bench on a hot day in July 2023 in Istanbul, Turkiye

Last summer was the hottest in the northern hemisphere in 2,000 years - yes, 2,000 - study says

“2023 was an exceptionally hot year and this trend will continue unless we dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” the study’s co-author said.

IF YOU THOUGHT last summer felt hotter than usual, you weren’t wrong.

A new study, published in scientific journal Nature, has found that summer 2023 was the hottest in the northern hemisphere in the last 2,000 years.

The record heat was attributed to climate change and amplified by the El Nino weather phenomenon that drove temperatures up even further.

The Cerberus heatwave, named after a three-headed, monstrous dog in Greek mythology, brought scorching temperatures to Europe last year.

Since then, scientists were able to look at data in tree rings that reveal a wealth of information about climate patterns over the last two millenia and compare the findings to modern temperatures and other historical sources of data.

The study found that summer temperatures in 2023 summer temperatures on land in the northern hemisphere were 2.07 Celsius warmer than in the years 1850-1900, the period used as a baseline to compare the pre-industrial period – before human burning of fossil fuels had a major impact on the planet – to the current climate.

The research went further back using the tree ring data over 2,000 years, as well as approximating the variability in the climate caused by El Nino and its opposite La Nina, which has a cooling effect.

It found that the summer of 2023 exceeded the long-term average from 1AD to 1890 by 2.2 Celsius.

The coldest summer in that period was in 536 AD, according to the study, which was nearly four degrees colder than 2023′s. It was influenced by a large volcanic eruption that chucked aerosols into the atmosphere, temporarily limiting the amount of heat that could reach the earth’s surface from the sun.

Global average temperatures are rising above pre-industrial times largely due to humans burning excessive volumes of fossil fuels.

Greenhouse gases that are emitted as a result, like carbon dioxide, effectively clog up the atmosphere and trap heat close to the earth’s surface instead of allowing it to escape.

The consequences are devastating, causing extreme weather events like heatwaves, droughts, and wildfires but also storms and flooding, as well as causing sea ice to melt and sea levels to rise.

viterbo-lazio-italy-15-august-2023-backpackers-cooling-off-at-a-water-fountain-in-viterbo-central-italy-on-a-hot-august-day-as-temperatures-reach-34celsius-today-july-was-officially-earths-hot Backpackers try to cool off at a water fountain in Italy in August 2023 Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Co-author Professor Ulf Buntgen of Cambridge University’s Department of Geography said that looking at the “long sweep” of history allows us to see “just how dramatic recent global warming is”.

“2023 was an exceptionally hot year and this trend will continue unless we dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” Professor Buntgen said.

Professor Jan Esper of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz in Germany said the climate is changing and the warming in 2023 was “additionally amplified” by El Nino conditions, “so we end up with longer and more severe heat waves and extended periods of drought”.

“When you look at the big picture, it shows just how urgent it is that we reduce greenhouse gas emissions immediately.”

Additional reporting by Press Association

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    Mute mamaise
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    Aug 25th 2014, 11:19 AM

    Pharma cliff?? a friend of mine has to take tablets following an operation for the rest of his life, they cost €190 per month, he found them in Spain for €10, and of course his medical card was revoked. So now himself & the wife go to Spain twice a year to SAVE money! The Irish people are just sick of getting robbed by their own government.

    Get rid of the pension levy that was unfairly applied to one section of tge work force & reduce the USC or petrol costs next, give people a chance to get back up on their feet again

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    Mute HARRY MARKOPOLOS
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    Aug 25th 2014, 11:34 PM

    Amen.
    Ulster Bank (the UK’s very own Irish Nationwide) are only trying to talk up their Celtic Tiger Ponzi Scheme loanbook, just so that they can try and hawk the whole bank to some halfwit hedge fund.

    4
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    Mute John Coady
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    Aug 25th 2014, 11:46 AM

    I love when these so called experts make these fascinating predictions cause when they get it horrible wrong it makes them look great!!! They know and i know economics does not work!!! Its all on credit nd nobody gives two sh***!!!!

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    Mute Taxi Bill
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    Aug 25th 2014, 11:16 AM

    We are f****d so!

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    Mute SeanieRyan
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    Aug 25th 2014, 11:44 AM

    For most of the last century this would be called healthy growth for a western economy.

    In the dystopian Euro zone it is however a boom, growth of any kind is such a distant memory for people in the Eurozone and EU that some even talk about this being a return to Celtic Tiger growth.

    For most of Europe 3% growth will not return for many years to come.

    Stagnation and decline are the legacy of the Euro.

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    Mute Chris Mansfield
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    Aug 25th 2014, 11:54 AM

    While Eurozone monetary policy isn’t helping I feel that people are underestimating the effect of demographic change on Eurozone growth.

    For most of the last century, European countries had expanding workforces and an expanding population. Few have that nowadays and some are even shrinking. That makes a comparison with growth rates in other parts of the world impractical.

    In fact, most of Europe has seen anaemic growth for 30 years or so, long before the Euro came into existence.

    Unfortunately, it takes 30 years to solve a birthrate problem, even if you can figure out how to do it.

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    Mute Ahippo
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    Aug 25th 2014, 2:03 PM

    A far more cogent explanation than that of Seanie FFryan

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    Mute Ryan Ash
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    Aug 25th 2014, 6:59 PM

    And Ireland, with the youngest population in Europe, in well placed compared to greying Germany and France – among others.

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    Mute Alan O'connor
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    Aug 25th 2014, 11:48 AM

    And the complainers and whingers are out of the blocks quickly. Have to stifle any good feeling. How will the Sinners be elected otherwise?

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    Mute Sam Bartell
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    Aug 25th 2014, 12:14 PM

    And to whose standards are you comparing these alleged “sinners”? God, budda, allah, the ever mystical purple sky monkey?

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    Mute Norman Hunter
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    Aug 25th 2014, 12:23 PM

    Alan yet you are nearly always one of the first to whinge about whingers,amazing isn’t it.

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    Mute Norman Hunter
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    Aug 25th 2014, 12:24 PM

    “Sinners” surely you meant “shinners” they are the group you’re obsessed with.

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    Mute Griska
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    Aug 25th 2014, 12:33 PM

    There’s an article on this site about increasing numbers of children going to school hungry.
    So I’m not buying any of this sh!t.

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    Mute Neal Ireland Hello
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    Aug 25th 2014, 12:56 PM

    The state if the economy has no bearing on whether or not parents get their act together and feed their kids.

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    Mute Neal Ireland Hello
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    Aug 25th 2014, 12:56 PM

    *of

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    Mute Griska
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    Aug 25th 2014, 3:07 PM

    Really? You don’t link disadvantage to hunger?
    Do you think teachers in prosperous areas are bringing breakfast in for their pupils?

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    Mute Ahippo
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    Aug 25th 2014, 11:25 AM

    Seeing as how we have such a terrible government I wonder who should get the credit for this – I know Sinn Fail and Fianna Fein. Let’s vote them into power at the election !

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    Mute Alan O'connor
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    Aug 25th 2014, 3:54 PM

    Yes I meant Shinners. And while not obsessed I certainly don’t want them anywhere near power in the country I live in. Which is why any economic good news is always welcome as it undermines their constant negativity in pursuit of votes.

    Thanks for playing.

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