QOTD -- Hot Times On The Old Planet

 

"The Earth just endured its hottest 12 months in the modern era, and probably the hottest in 125,000 years, according to an analysis published Thursday.

"That means nearly 3 in 4 people experienced more than a month’s worth of heat so extreme, it would have been unusual in the past, but became at least three times more likely because of human-caused climate change, scientists at Climate Central found.

"And it means that the planet is closer than ever to a global warming benchmark that scientists have predicted could irreversibly damage, if not destroy, entire ecosystems — 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial norms. Data shows a surge of warming this year has pushed average planetary temperatures 1.3 to 1.4 degrees Celsius above 19th-century levels..." -- Scott Dance in the Washington Post, reporting on the climate change that all but ensures next year will continue a trend that's developed over decades.  It's hard not to relate the clichéd allegory of the frog slowly boiled to death before it's aware of the danger to the fate of humanity.  But here we are.