After Earth’s hottest week on record, extreme weather surprises everyone — even climate scientists

By: Benjamin Shingler, Rukhsar Ali
We’re in ‘uncharted territory’ with heat and extreme weather events models can’t always predict. The heat has been unprecedented, and extreme weather, from wildfires to floods, are ravaging various corners of the world. Data suggests last week was the hottest on record, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
Temperatures have soared across much of southern Europe and the southern United States, while powerful rain storms led to flooding in Vermont, India, Japan — and Montreal on Thursday. At the same time, Canada has already surpassed the record for the total area burned in a wildfire season.
This follows the hottest June on record, with unprecedented sea surface temperatures and record low Antarctic sea ice coverage.
“There’s a lot of concern from the scientific community and a lot of catch up in the scientific community trying to understand these incredible changes we’re seeing at the moment,” said Michael Sparrow, head of the WMO’s world climate research program.
Sourse:cbc.ca