"Climate change is out of control"; We're approaching a disastrous situation

"Climate change is out of control"; We're approaching a disastrous situation

This is why UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said that "climate change is out of control".

"If we persist in delaying the key measures that are needed, I think we are entering a catastrophic situation, as shown by the last two temperature records," Guterres said, referring to the world temperature records broken on Monday and Tuesday.

The average global air temperature, namely, on Tuesday was 17.18 degrees Celsius, according to data from the US National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), surpassing the record 17.01 degrees, achieved on Monday.

For the seven-day period that ended Wednesday, the daily average temperature was 0.04 degrees higher than any week in 44 years of measurement, the University of Maine's "Climate Reanalyzer" platform announced.

Those data showed that the average temperature of the Earth remained at a record high of 17.18°C on Wednesday.

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), whose figures are considered the gold standard in climate data, said it could not confirm those unofficial figures.

"We are aware that we are in a warm period due to climate change, and in combination with El Niño and hot summer conditions, we are seeing record-warm surface temperatures recorded in many locations around the world," NOAA said.

However, scientists say the increase in heat caused by anthropogenic global warming combined with the return of El Niño could lead to more new temperature records. The UN confirmed the return of El Niño on Tuesday, and the last major El Niño was in 2016, which remains the warmest year on record.

"There are high chances that the month of July will be the hottest ever. Ever, which means in the last 120,000 years," said Dr. Carsten Haustein, research associate at the University of Leipzig. An exceptionally mild winter was also recorded in Antarctica. Parts of the continent and the nearby ocean were 10-20 degrees warmer than average, writes the Guardian.

"Temperatures are unusual over the ocean and especially around Antarctica this week as wind fronts are strong and push warm air deeper south," said Raghu Murtugudde, a professor at the University of Maryland.

Chari Vijayaraghavan, a polar explorer who has regularly visited the Arctic and Antarctic over the past 10 years, said global warming is evident at both poles and is fueling melting ice that raises sea levels.

"Climate warming could lead to an increased risk of diseases such as bird flu spreading in Antarctica, which will have devastating consequences for penguins and other fauna in the region," he said.