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- Currently in Philadelphia — October 3, 2023: Summer weather in October
Currently in Philadelphia — October 3, 2023: Summer weather in October
Plus, El Niño continues to accelerate global temperatures.
Eric Holthaus & Abe Musselman
October 02, 2023
The weather, currently.
Summer weather in October
It’s been a long time since I went “back to school”, but there’s a particular kind of fall weather that brings out that familiar feeling of anticipation (or dare I say dread). That’s what this week feels like to me — sunny and warm with the occasionally chilly wind serving as a reminder that summer is on its way out. Temperatures will hit 82˚F today, with a very gentle breeze and barely a cloud in sight. The humidity will be just right, around 50% in the afternoon. All in all, not much to complain about. You can find me down by the river this evening pretending it’s still summer vacation.
— Abe Musselman
What you need to know, currently.
New data show that the last week of September was the most anomalously warm week in history. That’s not so surprising given that we’re going into what looks like a very strong El Niño — the tropical Pacific warmth that defines these linked ocean-atmosphere patterns typically starts spreading worldwide during the last four months of the year.
Here’s more, from CarbonBrief:
Global surface temperatures set a new record this week for the highest daily temperature anomalies (departure from the norm) ever observed. They were recorded by a Japanese climate database called the JRA-55 reanalysis product. These were approximately 1C warmer than the 1991-2020 baseline period used by the dataset and around 1.9C warmer than the pre-industrial (1850-1900) temperatures.
As Currently reported last week, these data add to the increasing likelihood that we may already be living in the first 12-month period that’s 1.5°C warmer than pre-industrial levels, and that a few upcoming weeks may top 2°C for the first time ever.
What you can do, currently.
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One of my favorite organizations, Mutual Aid Disaster Relief, serves as a hub of mutual aid efforts focused on climate action in emergencies — like hurricane season. Find mutual aid network near you and join, or donate to support existing networks:
