Warmest Day Ever

Actually there were four of them in a row

My son loves watching soccer (also known as football in Europe, I’m not taking sides on that linguistic debate!) He has been counting down the days until the Premier League competition in England resumes. He was excited to hear that some of the teams from the UK were playing some friendly matches in the US this summer.

We watched the Brentford vs Fulham match this morning, where they interviewed Mattias Jensen, a Danish player on the Brentford team. He mentioned that the soaring summer temperature that day was affecting the standard of the game. Players weren’t playing as well as they usually do.

Increasing temperatures affect many daily activities, including even our favourite pastimes.

The four days, July 3rd to 6th 2023, were the warmest days our earth has ever experienced. And not by a small amount either, those four days were about a degree warmer than the average temperature between 1979 and 2000, and significantly hotter than the previous warmest day. Heatwaves have made headlines in Europe, Asia, and North America, killing many vulnerable people, and impacting the quality of life of millions.¹

The graph below the solid black line shows global average temperatures in 2023. The orange line shows 2022 temperatures, and the dotted black line is the average temperatures from 1979 to 2000.²

For those of us living in the southern hemisphere, it may not seem like the hottest day. I need to wear a jacket outside at the moment, it’s cold here. In winter it can be easy to forget that the planet is warming.

What is your reaction when you see graphs like this?

Some disagree with the science and cast doubt on these figures or what they mean.

Some feel overwhelmed and try to ignore it.

Some feel afraid.

Some feel spurred to action.

For some, it’s just a confirmation of what they already knew was happening.

What is your reaction? How do people in your social circles react?

I wonder what Jesus’ reaction to this would be?

1. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jul/21/extreme-heatwaves-weather-temperature-results-around-the-world-worlds-hottest-day-europe-northern-hemisphere Accessed 24th July 2023.

2. https://climatereanalyzer.org/clim/t2_daily/ Accessed 24th July 2023.