Talk of the town：July 2023 set to be the hottest month on record
【明報專訊】The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) under the United Nations (UN) and another international organisation have jointly announced that July 2023 saw a record average global temperature and was ''very likely'' to be the world's hottest month since the 1940s. António Guterres, Secretary-General of the UN, said that ''Climate change is here. It is terrifying. And it is just the beginning'', adding that ''the era of global boiling has arrived''.
Many places in the Northern hemisphere have been affected by extremely hot weather and wildfires in this summer, and large areas of the US are facing heat.
A report published by the WMO points out that the mean temperature over Asia for 2022 was above the average. Petteri Taalas, the Secretary-General of the WMO, said that due to the exceptionally warm and dry conditions in 2022, most glaciers in the High Mountain Asia region had suffered intense mass loss. He warned that this would have major implications for future food and water security and ecosystems.
Guterres said that humanity was ''in the hot seat'' and humans were to blame for making such a ''disaster'' happen. He also urged politicians to take action without hesitancy, excuses or waiting.
◆Grammar Booster
in the hot seat
''In the hot seat'' is an idiom, meaning in a position where you are responsible for important or difficult things.
E.g. We are not the ones in the hot seat when it comes to taking initiatives.
■Game
Here are some keywords related to global warming. Match the keywords with their correct definitions.
(see the picture)
1. Deforestation．
2. Sustainability．
3. Fossil fuels．
4. Paris Agreement．
．A. A legally binding international treaty on climate change.
．B. The action of clearing a wide area of trees.
．C. Avoidance of the excessive use of natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance.
．D. A hydrocarbon-containing material such as coal, oil, and natural gas, formed naturally in the Earth's crust.
(Answers on next text)
■Glossary
era (n) 時代
exceptionally (adv) 與別不同地
implication (n) 可能的後果
hesitancy (n) 猶豫
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[Smarties' Power English 第382期]
