It’s not your imagination, things are getting noticeably warmer around the planet.
Last month’s average temperature was 0.93 degrees Celsius (1.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above the 1991-2020 average for September. That’s the warmest margin above average for a month in 83 years of records kept by the European Space Agency’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.
Our planet is on track for its hottest year on record…again, which is ~1.4 degrees Celsius warmer than pre-industrial times. I remember when I was in high school hearing that breaking the 1.5 degree threshold would lead to catastrophic and irreversible climate change, so it appears our strategy of acting like nothing is happening isn’t really working.
“This is not a fancy weather statistic. It’s a death sentence for people and ecosystems. It destroys assets, infrastructure, harvest.”
-Imperial College of London climate scientist Friederike Otto
For context, it was 81 degrees in Chicago yesterday, in early October. I’m not complaining, I love the heat and don’t much care for the cold, but this is getting out of hand.
Side Items
French Bedbugs: Just in time for its famed fashion week, the city of Paris has been infested with bugs of the bed variety. All across social media, tourists and French residents alike have been sharing footage of the small insects crawling around in high-speed trains and the Parisian metro, at the cinema, and even at the airport, a troubling sign for the rest of the world. All this is especially worrying in advance of France hosting the Olympics next year, but let’s be real, are we surprised? There’s nothing the French love more than exporting their pests
World Cup 2030: Already thinking ahead to a tournament more than 6 years away, FIFA announced the host nations of the 2030 World Cup, making a complicated process even more so by splitting the host duties over 3 continents. FIFA awarded the 2030 World Cup to Morocco, Spain and Portugal yesterday, but also announced that Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay will host three of the first matches to mark the tournament’s 100 year anniversary. Anyone with half a brain will wonder why the tournament’s host was announced so far in advance, but the reasonable among us know that it’s all Saudi Arabia orchestrating behind the scenes, angling to host the 2034 World Cup
Puppy Problems: Biden has faced his fair share of issues in his tenure as president, but the toughest tests always come from the family. His beloved dog Commander (lame name for a dog, should’ve named him Spike or Tuck like a normal white person), has had a number of “biting incidents” during his stay at the white house. According to records, the dog has bitten members of Biden’s security team at least 10 times in four months. At a certain point, you’ve gotta recognize that this pup isn’t built for public consumption. This is the kinda dog you should probably keep behind a tall fence with clear signage indicating that he’s more wolf than puppy