WASHINGTON POST • July 31, 2023
A glimpse of a more tumultuous future seemed on full display throughout July, a month packed with weather anomalies that exceeded any definition of normal. For years, climate scientists have detailed again and again the many impacts that are likely as the world grows steadily hotter, such as more intense storms, more torrential rainfall, fast-rising seas and melting ice caps. As the sweltering summer of 2023 marches into August, scientists and environmental advocates are hoping the recent extremes somehow spur the kind of global, collective action that has been largely absent. David Armstrong McKay, a research impact fellow at the University of Exeter, said the lack of sufficient climate action in recent years amounts to a paucity of political will. António Guterres, the U.N. secretary general, said, “Leaders must lead. No more hesitancy. No more excuses.”