After 2022’s devastating heat waves and wildfires, scientists warn of even hotter year

 

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 This year will be warmer than last year, and one of the hottest on record, Britain’s Meteorological Office has forecast. Predictions suggest it will be the 10th year in a row the global temperature is at least 1C above average.

Scientific evidence shows that climate change is driving up global temperatures. In July, the UK recorded its hottest temperature ever, with the mercury hitting 40.2C (104.3F) at Heathrow Airport. The heat wave also sparked bushfires in and around London, setting houses ablaze.

Some countries across Europe had been struggling to put out wildfires and at times have been criticized by activists for not doing enough to combat the climate crisis and its effects.

Although the general take is that the world is heading towards a warmer year, scientists are professionally cautious when asked how the coming summer will be.

Meteorologist Andy Hill told Anadolu Agency that it is not possible to give a confident forecast but also cited a report by the American Meteorological Society which points to changes in the monthly average to understand that 2023 will see the world entering an El Nino, a periodic event that involves above-average sea-surface temperatures across the east-central equatorial Pacific.