The world is threatened by the "storm of the century" - everything is moving in the wrong direction

Europe experienced one of the most intense heatwaves in June and July, with daily temperatures exceeding 40°C. Research has shown that climate change has at least tripled the number of deaths during the heatwave in late June, with 1,500 additional deaths in 12 cities.

Last year, Europe experienced its most widespread flooding since 2013, with more than 335 deaths and €18 billion in damage.

The phenomenon of hydroclimatic shocks is becoming more frequent – alternating phases of drought and storms are causing environmental destabilization and increasing the risk of fires.

Severe heatwaves are becoming more frequent and longer-lasting, and the boundaries of the seasons are becoming more fluid. Above-average summer temperatures were often interrupted by sudden storms, with severe thunderstorms accompanied by hail larger than 5 cm in diameter in late June and July. A similar trend has continued this year.

Much of Europe has been hit by a severe heatwave, with many countries setting new temperature records.

At current levels of carbon dioxide emissions, the Earth could be on track to exceed the symbolic 1.5 degrees Celsius warming limit in just three years. That is the stark warning from more than 60 of the world’s leading climate scientists in their latest assessment of the state of global warming. Almost 200 countries agreed to try to limit the rise in global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius above late 19th century levels, as part of a landmark deal reached in 2015 aimed at avoiding some of the worst impacts of climate change. But countries have continued to burn record amounts of coal, oil and gas, and cut down forests, putting this important international goal in jeopardy, the BBC reports.

"Everything is going in the wrong direction. We are witnessing some unprecedented changes, such as global warming and rising sea levels," said the study's lead author, Prof. Piers Forster, director of the Priestley Centre for Climate Futures at the University of Leeds.

In early 2020, scientists estimated that humanity could only emit 500 billion tonnes more of carbon dioxide (CO2), the gas most responsible for warming the planet, with a 50% chance of keeping warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. But by early 2025, this so-called "carbon budget" had shrunk to 130 billion tonnes, a new study has found. If global CO2 emissions remain at current levels of around 40 billion tonnes a year, 130 billion tonnes gives the world about three years until that carbon budget is exhausted. The current rate of warming is about 0.27 degrees per decade, much faster than any known record in the geological record. And if emissions remain at this rate, the planet is well on track to reach a temperature increase of 1.5 °C as early as 2030.

The recent increase is largely due to greenhouse gas emissions, but a reduction in the cooling effect of tiny particles called aerosols has also played a role. This extra energy has to go somewhere, and some of it goes to warming land, increasing air temperatures, and global glacier melting, but about 90 percent of the excess heat is absorbed by the oceans. All of this not only means disruption to marine life, but also contributes to rising sea levels. So warmer ocean waters take up more space, along with the extra water that melting glaciers "add" to the seas.

Reducing CO2 emissions more important than ever

The rate of global sea level rise has doubled since the 1990s, increasing the risk of flooding for millions of people living in coastal areas around the world. And while all of this paints a grim picture, the authors say they see the rate of increase in carbon dioxide emissions slowing as clean technologies are introduced. They argue that “rapid and decisive” emissions cuts are more important than ever.

However, any additional warming increases the severity of many weather extremes, such as melting ice and rising sea levels. It is important to note that reducing emissions over the next decade could critically reverse the rate of warming, experts say.

The most powerful Northeast storms — the devastating and often deadly weather events that hit the East Coast of the United States, bringing with them heavy rains, snowdrifts and flooding that often paralyze urban areas — are being further amplified by the effects of climate change, a recently published study finds.

According to a CNN report, these storms, which usually occur between September and April, are caused by a temperature contrast between cold Arctic air masses from the north and warmer, moist currents from the Atlantic Ocean.

The so-called "Storm of the Century" of March 1993 remains remembered as one of the most destructive and costly in recorded history.

Hurricane-force winds of over 100 mph (160 km/h) brought up to 60 inches (150 cm) of snow in some places, claiming more than 200 lives.

The "Snow Armageddon" of 2010 buried parts of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia with more than 12 inches (30 cm) of snow, killing 41 people and leaving hundreds of thousands of homes without power.

The next "Storm of the Century" could be even stronger, CNN reports, citing new research.