10 . European Union scientists said on Wednesday that 2023 would be the warmest year on record. The average world temperature for the first 11 months of the year hit the highest level on record, 1.46 degrees Celsius above the 1850 to 1900 average.
The record comes as governments are in negotiations at the COP28 meeting in Dubai. Governments are deciding whether to gradually stop the use of coal, oil and gas, the main source of warming emissions.
The 2015 Paris climate agreement set a goal of limiting worldwide temperature rise to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial times. Above that limit, scientists warn of severe effects on weather, health and agriculture.
Diplomats, scientists, activists and others have been meeting in Dubai to find ways to limit warming to those levels. But the planet is not cooperating. They say Earth is on its way to reach 2.7 to 2.9 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times. C3S records go back to 1940. United States government records go back to 1850. Using information from ice cores, tree rings and corals, scientists have said this is the warmest 10-year period Earth has seen in about 125,000 years. That dates back to the time before human civilization.
Scientists say there are two driving forces behind the six straight months of record hot temperatures. One is human-caused climate change from the burning of coal, oil and gas. And El Nino, the natural warming of surface waters in the Pacific, is making it worse.
Samantha Burgess, deputy director of C3S, said in a statement that “the November temperatures, including two days warmer than 2C above preindustrial, mean that 2023 is the warmest year in recorded history, which is very likely to be a cool year in the future unless we do something about our dependence on fossil fuels.”
1. According to the passage, what is the natural driving force behind the temperature record?
| A．El Nino. | B．The burning of coals. |
| C．The dependence on fossil fuels. | D．The use of gas |
2. What is Burgess’s attitude towards the record?
| A．Pessimistic. | B．Optimistic | C．Unclear. | D．Concerned. |
3. What can be the best title for the text?
| A．Whether to depend on fossil fuels. | B．2023 would be warmest year on record. |
| C．El Nino makes global warming worse. | D．Main source of warming emissions. |
4. What is going to be talked about next?
| A．What was the temperature condition in the preindustrial time. | B．How to deal with global warming. |
| C．How to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. | D．Why is 2023 likely to be a cool year in the future. |
