FAP, June 19 (FAP)-recently, temperatures in many parts of northern China have exceeded 40 ℃, making many people "so hot that they doubt their lives." As a matter of fact, it is not only our country, but the whole world that is "scorched". With the surge in world ocean temperatures and the arrival of Pacific El Ni ñ o, 2023 is likely to be the hottest year on record, and the earth is moving into "uncharted territory," researchers say. Previously, the hottest year on record was 2016, and this month's temperature records show that temperatures in 2023 are likely to be close to 2016. The peak occurred on June 9, when the global average temperature was 16.7 ℃, just 0.1 ℃ below the highest since records began on August 13, according to data from the European Union's Earth observation programme, Copernicus. It is worth noting that while human-driven climate change is still warming the world, there is no evidence that the process has accelerated this year. (China Science Daily)