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GMA Network
5 days ago
- Science
- GMA Network
May 2025 was world's second-hottest on record, EU scientists say
A man sits on a tangle of branches in the Sacramento River while staying cool during a heat wave in Sacramento, California, US. May 30, 2025. REUTERS/Fred Greaves/File Photo BRUSSELS - The world experienced its second-warmest May since records began this year, a month in which climate change fueled a record-breaking heatwave in Greenland, scientists said on Wednesday. Last month was Earth's second-warmest May on record—exceeded only by May 2024—rounding out the northern hemisphere's second-hottest March-May spring on record, the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said in a monthly bulletin. Global surface temperatures last month averaged 1.4 degrees Celsius higher than in the 1850-1900 pre-industrial period, when humans began burning fossil fuels on an industrial scale, C3S said. That broke a run of extraordinary heat, in which 21 of the last 22 months had an average global temperature exceeding 1.5°C above pre-industrial times—although scientists warned this break was unlikely to last. "Whilst this may offer a brief respite for the planet, we do expect the 1.5°C threshold to be exceeded again in the near future due to the continued warming of the climate system," said C3S director Carlo Buontempo. The main cause of climate change is greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels. Last year was the planet's hottest on record. A separate study, published by the World Weather Attribution group of climate scientists on Wednesday, found that human-caused climate change made a record-breaking heatwave in Iceland and Greenland last month about 3°C hotter than it otherwise would have been, contributing to a huge additional melting of Greenland's ice sheet. "Even cold-climate countries are experiencing unprecedented temperatures," said Sarah Kew, study co-author and researcher at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute. The global threshold of 1.5°C is the limit of warming that countries vowed under the Paris climate agreement to try to prevent to avoid the worst consequences of warming. The world has not yet technically breached that target, which refers to an average global temperature of 1.5°C over decades. However, some scientists have said it can no longer realistically be met and have urged governments to cut CO2 emissions faster to limit the overshoot and the fueling of extreme weather. C3S's records go back to 1940 and are cross-checked with global temperature records going back to 1850. —Reuters
Straits Times
5 days ago
- Climate
- Straits Times
May was world's second-hottest on record, EU scientists say
FILE PHOTO: A man sits on a tangle of branches in the Sacramento River while staying cool during a heat wave in Sacramento, California, U.S. May 30, 2025. REUTERS/Fred Greaves/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Smoke rises from the Hubert Lake wildfire WWF023, which forced the evacuation of the Hubert Lake Provincial Park area west of Fawcett, Alberta, Canada in an aerial photograph May 29, 2025. Alberta Wildfire/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Klara, 20, sunbathes at Retiro Park during a hot day in Madrid, Spain, May 31, 2025. REUTERS/Ana Beltran/File Photo May was world's second-hottest on record, EU scientists say BRUSSELS - The world experienced its second-warmest May since records began this year, a month in which climate change fuelled a record-breaking heatwave in Greenland, scientists said on Wednesday. Last month was Earth's second-warmest May on record - exceeded only by May 2024 - rounding out the northern hemisphere's second-hottest March-May spring on record, the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said in a monthly bulletin. Global surface temperatures last month averaged 1.4 degrees Celsius higher than in the 1850-1900 pre-industrial period, when humans began burning fossil fuels on an industrial scale, C3S said. That broke a run of extraordinary heat, in which 21 of the last 22 months had an average global temperature exceeding 1.5C above pre-industrial times - although scientists warned this break was unlikely to last. "Whilst this may offer a brief respite for the planet, we do expect the 1.5C threshold to be exceeded again in the near future due to the continued warming of the climate system," said C3S director Carlo Buontempo. The main cause of climate change is greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels. Last year was the planet's hottest on record. A separate study, published by the World Weather Attribution group of climate scientists on Wednesday, found that human-caused climate change made a record-breaking heatwave in Iceland and Greenland last month about 3C hotter than it otherwise would have been - contributing to a huge additional melting of Greenland's ice sheet. "Even cold-climate countries are experiencing unprecedented temperatures," said Sarah Kew, study co-author and researcher at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute. The global threshold of 1.5C is the limit of warming which countries vowed under the Paris climate agreement to try to prevent, to avoid the worst consequences of warming. The world has not yet technically breached that target - which refers to an average global temperature of 1.5C over decades. However, some scientists have said it can no longer realistically be met, and have urged governments to cut CO2 emissions faster, to limit the overshoot and the fuelling of extreme weather. C3S's records go back to 1940, and are cross-checked with global temperature records going back to 1850. REUTERS Find out more about climate change and how it could affect you on the ST microsite here.
The Star
15-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
TikTok charged with breaching EU online content rules
FILE PHOTO: TikTok logo is pictured on the U.S. headquarters of the social media company in Culver City, California, U.S. January 18, 2025. REUTERS/Fred Greaves/File photo BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Social media app TikTok was charged by EU tech regulators on Thursday with breaching EU online content rules, putting its owner ByteDance at risk of a fine of as much as 6% of its global turnover. The European Commission said it had sent its preliminary findings to TikTok following an investigation launched in February last year. The EU executive said TikTok has failed to comply with the Digital Services Act's obligation to publish an advertisement repository which allows researchers and people to detect scam advertisements. The DSA requires online platforms to do more to tackle illegal and harmful content as well as provide information on advertisements. The Commission said the company does not provide the necessary information about the content of advertisements, the targeted users and who paid for the advertisements. "Transparency in online advertising — who pays and how audiences are targeted — is essential to safeguarding the public interest," EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said in a statement. TikTok, which also faces a second DSA investigation into its management of risks related to elections, did not respond immediately to an emailed request for comment. The social media platform can be asked to see the Commission's documents and provide a written response before the watchdog issues a decision. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, Editing by Louise Heavens)
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump's Alcatraz prison restoration plan gets cold reception from tourists
By Fred Greaves SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to turn Alcatraz back into a federal prison was summarily rejected on Monday by some visitors to the tourist site in San Francisco Bay. Trump revealed a plan over the weekend to rebuild and expand the notorious island prison, a historic landmark known as "The Rock" and operated by the U.S. government's National Park Service. It's "just an idea I've had," he said. "We need law and order in this country. So we're going to look at it," he added on Monday. Once nearly impossible to leave, the island can be difficult to get to because of competition for tickets. Alcatraz prison held fewer than 300 inmates at a time before it was closed in 1963 and draws roughly 1.2 million tourists a year. U.S. Bureau of Prisons Director William Marshall said on Monday he would vigorously pursue the president's agenda and was looking at next steps. "It's a waste of money," said visitor Ben Stripe from Santa Ana, California. "After walking around and seeing this place and the condition it's in, it is just way too expensive to refurbish." he said. "It's not feasible to have somebody still live here," agreed Cindy Lacomb from Phoenix, Arizona, who imagined replacing all the metal in the cells and rebuilding the crumbling concrete. The sprawling site is in disrepair, with peeling paint and rusting locks and cell bars. Signs reading "Area closed for your safety" block off access to many parts of the grounds. Chemical toilets sit next to permanent restrooms closed off for repair. The former home of Al Capone and other notable inmates was known for tough treatment, including pitch-black isolation cells. It was billed as America's most secure prison given the island location, frigid waters and strong currents. It was closed because of high operating costs. The island also was claimed by Native American activists in 1969, an act of civil disobedience acknowledged by the National Park Service. Mike Forbes, visiting from Pittsburgh, said it should remain a part of history. "I'm a former prison guard and rehabilitation is real. Punishment is best left in the past," Forbes said. No successful escapes were ever officially recorded from Alcatraz, though five prisoners were listed as "missing and presumed drowned." Today a "Supermax" facility located in Florence, Colorado, about 115 miles (185 km) south of Denver, is nicknamed the "Alcatraz of the Rockies." No one has ever escaped from that 375-inmate facility since it opened in 1994. Congress in fiscal year 2024 cut the Bureau of Prisons infrastructure budget by 38% and prison officials have previously reported a $3 billion maintenance backlog. The Bureau of Prisons last year said it would close aging prisons, as it struggled with funding cuts.
