If you've seen this climate chart going viral, this is why scientists are so worried about it

James Cheng-Morris
·Freelance news writer, Yahoo UK
Updated ·4 min read
151
TOPSHOT - Police officers remove a climate activist from Extinction Rebellion group who is blocking the Utrechtsebaan highway during a demonstration against government's granting of fossil fuel subsidies in The Hague, September 10, 2023. (Photo by Robin Utrecht / ANP / AFP) / Netherlands OUT (Photo by ROBIN UTRECHT/ANP/AFP via Getty Images)
Police remove a climate activist during a demonstration in The Hague, Netherlands, earlier this month. September this year was the hottest on record. (AFP via Getty Images)

In this era of climate change, we have become well accustomed to record-breaking temperatures.

It’s barely even a surprise when you see the Pope wading in, as he did earlier this week, to say the world is “collapsing” and “nearing breaking point” because of climate change.

But since his intervention, new figures have emerged which have really shocked scientists.

On Thursday, the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) released data showing last month was the hottest September, globally, since records began.

What has particularly stunned scientists, however, is that September’s temperatures were nearly 1C above the 1990 to 2020 average. A C3S chart demonstrating this, below, has gone viral on social media.

'The Age of Stupid’: Read more

What does the chart show?

Surface air temperature rises between 1940 and 2023. (C3S)
Surface air temperature rises between 1940 and 2023. (C3S)

In September, the average surface air temperature was 16.38C. This was 0.93C above the 1991 to 2020 average for the month of September.

It was also a massive 0.5C above the previous warmest September, in 2020, and 1.75C warmer than the pre-industrial average between 1850 and 1900.

Meanwhile, the global temperature for January to September this year was 0.52C higher than average, and 1.4C higher than the pre-industrial average.

There were also alarming statistics in Europe, where last month was the hottest ever September at 2.51C higher than the 1991 to 2020 average… and 1.1C higher than September 2020, the previous hottest.

All this comes after C3S released an analysis last month showing summer 2023 was the hottest ever. It prompted Prof David Reay, executive director of the Edinburgh Climate Change Institute, to say even climate sceptics “must now be wondering why their butts are so very hot”.

Here Yahoo News breaks down some of the opinions climate scientists have shared since the data came out.

'Gobsmackingly bananas'

Prominent climate scientist Zeke Hausfather posted on X, formerly known as Twitter: "This month [September] was, in my professional opinion as a climate scientist - absolutely gobsmackingly bananas."

'COP28 will be critical'

Samantha Burgess, deputy director of C3S, said: "The unprecedented temperatures for the time of year observed in September, following a record summer, have broken records by an extraordinary amount. Two months out from COP28, the sense of urgency for ambitious climate action has never been more critical.”

The UAE is host of this year’s COP summit, something which has been called into question given its plans to increase fossil fuel production and consumption.

What is more, Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, head of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company - one of the world's biggest oil companies - is leading the talks. The UAE has a stated aim to reach net zero emissions by 2050.

TOPSHOT - Pedestrians walk in the midday sun past the Palace of Westminster in central London on September 6, 2023 as the late summer heatwave continues. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP) (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Pedestrians in Westminster, London, during a heatwave last month. (AFP via Getty Images)

'Surprising. Astounding. Staggering'

Prof Ed Hawkins, professor of climate science at the University of Reading, posted on X: "Surprising. Astounding. Staggering. Unnerving. Bewildering. Flabbergasting. Disquieting. Gobsmacking. Shocking. Mind-boggling."

'Anomalies are enormous'

Prof Petteri Taalas, secretary-general of the World Meteorological Organisation, said: “Since June, the world has experienced unprecedented heat on land and sea. The temperature anomalies are enormous, far bigger than anything we have ever seen in the past. Antarctic winter sea ice extent was the lowest on record for the time of year.

"What is especially worrying is that the warming El Nino event is still developing, and so we can expect these record-breaking temperatures to continue for months, with cascading impacts on our environment and society.”

'A death sentence'

Dr Friederike Otto, senior lecturer in climate science at the Grantham Institute for Climate Change, told Euronews: "This is not a fancy weather statistic. It’s a death sentence for people and ecosystems. It destroys assets, infrastructure, harvest.”