The past three days were quite likely the hottest in Earth’s modern history, scientists said Thursday, as an astonishing surge of heat across the globe continued to shatter temperature records from North America to Antarctica.
The spike comes as forecasters warn that Earth could be entering a multiyear period of exceptional warmth driven by two main factors: continued emissions of heat-trapping gases, mainly caused by humans burning oil, gas and coal; and the return of El Nino, a cyclical weather pattern.
Already, the surge has been striking. The planet just experienced its warmest June ever recorded, researchers said, with deadly heat waves scorching the U.S., Mexico and India. Off the coasts of Antarctica, sea ice levels this year have plummeted to record lows.