Earth breaks yet another record for hottest summer
Bonn, Sep 8: Summer 2024 sweltered to Earth’s hottest on record, making it even more likely that this year will end up as the warmest humanity has measured, European climate service Copernicus reported.
And if this sounds familiar, that’s because the records the globe shattered were set just last year as human-caused climate change, with a temporary boost from an El Nino, keeps dialling up temperatures and extreme weather, scientists said.
The northern meteorological summer – June, July and August – averaged 16.8 degrees Celsius, according to Copernicus. That’s 0.03 degrees Celsius warmer than the old record in 2023. Copernicus records go back to 1940, but American, British and Japanese records, which start in the mid-19th century, show the last decade has been the hottest since regular measurements were taken and likely in about 120,000 years, according to some scientists.
The Augusts of both 2024 and 2023 tied for the hottest Augusts globally at 16.82 degrees Celsius. July was the first time in more than a year that the world did not set a record, a tad behind 2023, but because June 2024 was so much hotter than June 2023, this summer as a whole was the hottest, Copernicus Director Carlo Buontempo said. (AP)
King Charles attends church prayers on the anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s death
London, Sep 8:King Charles III attended church near the royal Balmoral estate in Scotland for prayers and reflection in remembrance of his mother Queen Elizabeth II on Sunday, the second anniversary of her death.
Charles, 75, and his wife Camilla have been spending the summer in the Scottish Highlands, where the late monarch died at 96 years old on September 8, 2022.
Charles and Camilla were seen arriving for the Sunday morning service at the tiny granite church of Crathie Kirk, the royal family’s place of worship when they stay in nearby Balmoral Castle. Charles’ great-great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, laid the foundation stone for the church, and Elizabeth was a regular attendee.
Charles ascended the throne two years ago Sunday when his mother died in her Platinum Jubilee year after reigning for a record seven decades.
His second year as sovereign was marked by two significant health blows – both Charles and his daughter-in-law Kate, the Princess of Wales, announced they were diagnosed with unspecified types of cancer earlier this year.
The monarch has gradually returned to public duties, undertaking dozens of visits, meetings and events. (AP)