July is shaping up to the be the hottest month in 120,000 years

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Good morning and Happy Friday!

From UFOs to political legal drama to global heat records, it’s been a long week.

With that in mind, we’re very psyched for the weekend. And we need some music to get us ready…

What’s your favorite weekend song? No wrong answers! Message us HERE.

Have a good one!

Mosheh, Jill, & Courtney

🎙The Mo News Podcast: Talking about why the US may not be headed for a recession after all, which countries have banned smartphones in school, and what we’re watching, reading and eating this weekend.

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🗞 HOTTEST MONTH EVER

We still have a few days left of July and already scientists predict that this month will be the hottest globally on record, and likely the warmest that human civilization has ever seen, going back 120,000 years.

WE’RE CROSSING A KEY WARMING THRESHOLD
The World Meteorological Organization and the Europe’s Copernicus Climate Change Service proclaimed Earth’s temperature has been temporarily passing over a key warming threshold: the internationally accepted goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit.

Temperatures were 1.5 degrees warmer than pre-industrial times for a record 16 days this month.
Why 1.5 degrees matters: After we consistently surpass that threshold, scientists predict severe climate disruptions could exacerbate hunger, drought and plant/animal extinctions globally.

WAIT, HOW CAN THEY BACK 120,000 YEARS?
Even though official temperature records only go back to the middle of the 19th century, scientists use tree rings, ice cores and other proxies, and have calculated that this month is the hottest in about 120,000 years.

They attribute the record to a combination of climate change and the El Niño weather cycle this year. But, the scientific consensus is that these conditions would be “virtually impossible” without human-caused climate change.

“
What we’ve experienced during the first three weeks of July is so exceptionally warm that it would take a large asteroid impact, or something of that magnitude, to prevent July from being the warmest July on record.
Climate Scientist Zeke Hausfather, to Axios

BEEN THERE, DONE THAT
This follows last month, when the planet experienced its hottest June since records began.

July 6, 2023 was the hottest day in recorded history. And it’s looking pretty likely that 2023 will end up being the hottest year on record— taking the title from 2016.

And this could be just the beginning. Forecasters warn we could see a multiyear period of exceptional warmth.

LIKE ROY KENT
It’s here, it’s there, it’s every ****ing where. This is global, so it includes an abnormally warm winter in the Southern Hemisphere, in addition to record summer temps in the Northern Hemisphere.

HUMAN TOLL
As for this current heat wave, the human toll is not yet fully known, but emergency room visits for heat-related illness have spiked in some U.S. cities.

Overseas, a recent study showed that last summer, more than 61,000 people in Europe died from heat-related causes. It is still too early to determine the toll from this year’s record temps.
On Thursday, President Biden announced the first-ever heat wave "hazard alert" for workers.
- He directed the Department of Labor to issue a hazard alert for dangerous conditions in industries like agriculture and construction, where people work outside and are at greater risk of injury and death from extreme heat.
- Biden: "Even those places that are used to extreme heat have never seen as hot as it is now for as long as it's been.
In Phoenix, where temperatures have been over 110 F for 27 days in a row, the city is fearing a surge in heat deaths. They’ve brought in refrigerated containers capable of holding bodies.

ECONOMIC IMPACT
The heat isn’t just physically dangerous– it also has a major impact on the economy. Extreme heat means less worker productivity, crops that get damaged or destroyed, and a disruption in trade.

One study published last year tried to measure the impact of human-caused heat waves on the global economy. It found that the cumulative loss between 1992 and 2013 reached between $5 trillion and $29.3 trillion.

SO WHAT CAN YOU DO?
It may seem like individually we can’t do much to stop climate change, but NRDC (or Natural Resources Defense Council) says there’s actually a lot that private citizens can do. Here’s their list of 12 ideas. A major tip is to weather proof your house to cut down on the amount of energy (heat and cold) that escapes.

✔︎Mo News Reality Check: As for how world leaders are tackling this: The US and China are the world’s two largest greenhouse gas emitters. China leads with 12.7 billion metric tons of emissions annually. The US comes in at 5.9 billion tons annually. But the US has 1/3 the population and historically has emitted more than any other country, ever.

Earlier this month, John Kerry, President Biden’s climate change envoy, met with Chinese officials. The meetings ended with an agreement to keep talking.

It’s not just the US that’s feeling the heat— China has also been baking under record high temperatures. So the question is whether this summer will create a sense of urgency for these countries to make further CO2 cuts. But, we are not holding out too much hope in the short term.

⏳ SPEED READ

🚨NATION

📌 Trump charged with new crimes in classified documents indictment, including trying to delete video surveillance footage at Mar-a-Lago (POLITICO)

📌 NYC crane collapse linked to company with history of issues (AP NEWS)

📌 Supreme Court lets work resume on natural gas pipeline running from West Virginia to Virginia (BLOOMBERG)

📌 CDC warns about meat allergy caused by some tick bites (NPR)

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD

📌 Ukraine’s stepped-up counter offensive grinds forward, but scale is still a mystery (NY TIMES)

📌 US talking to Saudis about a comprehensive Middle East peace solution with Israel (GUARDIAN)

📌 Russian, Chinese leaders accompany Kim Jong Un to North Korean military parade (REUTERS)

📌 Norwegian woman and Nepali Sherpa set new record for climbing world’s 14 highest peaks (SEATTLE TIMES)

📌 Coup in African country of Niger widely condemned, countries urge return to order; 1,000 US service members are based in country to combat terror (REUTERS)

📱BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY

📌 U.S. gas prices hit 8-month high. (NBC NEWS)

📌 U.S. economic growth accelerates, defying slowdown expectations: Economy grew 2.4% last quarter, suggesting U.S. is steering clear of recession (WALL STREET JOURNAL)

📌 Chick-fil-A to build new restaurant concepts in Atlanta and New York City (USA TODAY)

📌 UN calls for global ban on smartphones in schools (GUARDIAN)

⚽️ SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

📌 A founding member of “The Eagles” has died (GUARDIAN)

📌 Greta Gerwig wanted Ryan Gosling to play Ken after seeing him in this SNL sketch (ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY)

📌 Concussion spotters are at the Women's World Cup for first time (CBS NEWS)

📌 OPINION: Your future self might not want you to find a ‘lazy girl job’ today (WASHINGTON POST)

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🎉 CHEERS TO THE FREAKIN WEEKEND

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING: Jill: Caddyshack on Max; Mosheh: Unknown: The Lost Pyramid on Netflix

WHAT WE’RE READING: Jill: UFOs Are Officially Mainstream in the Atlantic; Mosheh: Baby Books
WHAT WE’RE EATING: Jill: Peach slushies from Briemere Farms in Riverhead; Mosheh: Tea from Debutea in Brooklyn

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