As global temperature records were broken on two consecutive days this week, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated that "climate change is out of control".
"If we persist in delaying key measures that are needed, I think we are moving into a catastrophic situation, as the last two records in temperature demonstrate," the Guardian quoted Guterres.
According to data from the US National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), the average global air temperature reached 17.18 °C on Tuesday, surpassing the previous day's record of 17.01 °C.
Data from the University of Maine's Climate Reanalyzer showed that for the seven-day period ending Wednesday, the daily average temperature was 0.04 °C higher than any week in 44 years of record-keeping.
This metric indicated that Earth's average temperature on Wednesday remained at the record high of 17.18 °C.
However, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) stated on Thursday that it could not validate the Reanalyzer data, as reported by the Guardian.
"We recognise that we are in a warm period due to climate change, and combined with El Nino and hot summer conditions, we're seeing record warm surface temperatures being recorded at many locations across the globe," the NOAA said in a statement.
On Tuesday, the UN confirmed the return of El Nino. The last major El Nino occurred in 2016, which remains the hottest year on record.
Various parts of the world have been experiencing heatwaves, and the EU's climate monitoring service announced on Thursday that the world had witnessed its hottest June on record last month, as reported by the Guardian.
In the southern US, an intense heat dome has caused sweltering conditions in recent weeks, including on the national 4 July holiday on Tuesday.
Parts of China have also been affected by a scorching heatwave, with temperatures surpassing 35 °C.
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The above article has been published from a wire source with minimal modifications to the headline and text.
