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According to a recent study, this July was the warmest month ever as far as temperature is concerned since measurements began in 1880.
The study from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration points out the fact that July was hotter with 1.46 degrees Fahrenheit globally than the registered average since 1880. At the same time, estimates for the whole 2015 year will probably mark it as the hottest year ever recording, landing a statistical blow to global warming naysayers.
The average world temperature in July, both land and water, was 61.86 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the NOAA study. This broke the previous registered record for the month dating from 1998, when July registered a 61.2 average global temperature. This also makes it the highest temperature average for a month since measurements first began in 1880.
Another major report published on Thursday claims that the global warming trend is making California’s situation worse, as this is its fourth year of a drought which sees it water supplies depleted at a fast rate. The study was jointly done by researchers from NASA, Columbia University and the University of Idaho and published in the Geophysical Research journal.
The research claims that global warming is enabling the state’s water supplies deplete at a faster rate than it normally would. For the sake of clarity, it’s worth mentioning that it doesn’t link the global warming to the drought – it only claims that the latter is amplifying the consequences of the former.
The study’s lead author, climate researcher A. Park Williams, said that the drought would’ve occurred even if world temperature was closer to the average, due to a natural climate variation over the years. But accumulation of gases from fossil burning over the last century has made the state’s average temperature rise, which in turn made water resources evaporate at a faster rate than usual.
It also goes forth to offer an exact number on how exactly it is made worse. According to the research, fossil burning has worsened the situation by between 15 and 20 per cent through water dissipation and other drawbacks.
Another study published earlier this year claimed that the global warming increases California’s drought chance by up to 4 times. The study’s author, climatologist Noah Diffenbaugh, praised the study and called for more in-depth analyses on how global warming affects such events.
Image Source: The Independent
