El Nino and climate change will combine to shatter more records this year as world bakes in heatwaves, scientists say

‘We are in uncharted territory’ amid ‘worrying news for the planet’, says director at World Meteorological Organisation

The El Nino pattern can further exacerbate severe heatwaves in some regions, says scientists at Chinese University of Hong Kong

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The sun beats down on people in San Antonio, Texas, US, amid a heatwave on July 13, 2023. Photo: AP

Published: 12:30pm, 16 Jul 2023

Heatwaves that have left many countries sweltering since early April will continue to drive temperatures to record-breaking levels for the rest of the year as warming due to rising greenhouse-gas emissions coincides with the onset of the cyclical El Nino weather phenomenon, according to climate scientists.

It is, however, difficult to decipher how much of the impact can be attributed to El Nino, which historically exacerbates extreme heatwaves on land and in the oceans, versus the effects of climate change.

“We are in uncharted territory, and we can expect more records to fall as El Nino develops further,” Christopher Hewitt, director of climate services at the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), said in a statement on Monday. “These impacts will extend into 2024. This is worrying news for the planet.”

Underscoring the urgency, the president-designate of the United Nations’ Climate Change Conference (COP28) this week released a four-pillar plan with “fast-tracking transition” as its top priority ahead of the annual conference in Dubai in November.

A little girl and her father seek relief from heat in mist from a public fountain in Bucharest, Romania, on July 13, 2023, as the temperature exceeds 40 degrees Celsius. Photo: AP

The week to July 9 was the warmest the world has seen since record-keeping began, according to data collected by satellites, land-based stations and ships and analysed by the WMO. That followed the hottest June ever.

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