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Texas scraps 'water break' law for construction workers, as global heat records soar
Texas scraps 'water break' law for construction workers, as global heat records soar
by AFP Staff Writers
Houston (AFP) July 5, 2023

Texas has scrapped a law that guaranteed construction workers in some cities the right to water breaks on the job, drawing anger Wednesday from unions and local authorities as much of America endured a brutal heat wave.

The new bill was passed by the state legislature and signed into law in mid-June by Governor Greg Abbott. It will take effect in September.

The bill's backers argue it returns regulatory powers to the state, as several local jurisdictions have established their own business rules that sometimes clashed with those of Texas.

The new law eliminates a provision that let construction workers in Austin and Dallas take water breaks every four hours and rest in the shade for 10 minutes.

"There are going to be many things that we don't know yet that will be impacted, but what we do know is that HB 2127 prohibits cities and counties from passing or enforcing basic protections," Ana Gonzalez, a representative of the AFL-CIO, America's main labor federation, said referring to the new law.

"We're experiencing extreme weather. There's been cases in parts of Texas where workers have died of heat-related illnesses. Texas is the deadliest state when it comes to construction," she told AFP.

On Monday, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said the city filed a suit seeking to prevent the state law from taking effect.

Gonzalez said federal government statistics show there were 42 heat-related deaths in Texas in the construction sector from 2011 to 2022.

In the last two weeks of June, Texas and other parts of the US South suffered severe hot weather with temperatures up to 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit). The heat wave was blamed for 13 deaths.

Global temperature breaks record for second day: preliminary data
Paris (AFP) July 5, 2023 - Tuesday was the hottest day ever recorded as the global average temperature leaped to a record high for the second day in a row, according to preliminary readings by US meteorologists published Wednesday.

The average daily air temperature on the Earth's surface reached 17.18 degrees Celsius (62.92 Fahrenheit), according to data compiled by an organisation attached to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

That far outstripped even the previous day's record measurement, a fresh sign of the impact of climate change driven by the burning of fossil fuels.

The global average temperature reached 17 degrees Celsius for the first time on Monday, according to data from NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Prediction, whose records go back to 1979.

That topped the previous daily record of 16.92 Celsius dating to July 24, 2022.

For comparison, the world's average air temperature, which fluctuates between 12 Celsius and just under 17 Celsius on any given day over the year, averaged 16.2 degrees at the beginning of July from 1979 to 2000.

This reported record has yet to be corroborated by other measurements, but could be broken again as the northern hemisphere's summer begins.

The EU climate monitoring unit Copernicus confirmed in a statement to AFP on Wednesday that Monday had been the hottest day in its dataset going back to 1940. It could not yet confirm the data for Tuesday.

The average global temperature typically continues to rise until the end of July or early August.

Even last month, average global temperatures were the warmest Copernicus had ever recorded for the start of June.

Temperatures are likely to rise even further above historical averages over the next year with the onset of an El Nino weather phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean, which the World Meteorological Organization confirmed on Monday is now underway.

In addition, human activity -- mainly the burning of fossil fuels -- is continuing to emit roughly 40 billion tonnes of planet-warming CO2 into the atmosphere every year.

Climate change, El Nino drive hottest June on record
Paris (AFP) July 6, 2023 - The world saw its hottest June on record last month, the EU's climate monitoring service said Thursday, as climate change and the El Nino weather pattern looked likely to drive another scorching northern summer.

The announcement from the EU monitor Copernicus marked the latest in a series of records for a year that has already seen a drought in Spain and fierce heat waves in China and the United States.

"The month was the warmest June globally at just over 0.5 degrees Celsius above the 1991-2020 average, exceeding June 2019 -- the previous record -- by a substantial margin," the EU monitor said in a statement from its C3S climate unit.

Temperatures reached June records across northwest Europe while parts of Canada, the United States, Mexico, Asia and eastern Australia "were significantly warmer than normal", Copernicus noted.

On the other hand it was cooler than normal in western Australia, the western United States and western Russia, it said.

- 'Hottest day ever' -

It was the latest in a series of heat records over recent years, reflecting the impact of global warming driven by greenhouse gases released from human activity.

Preliminary readings published Wednesday by US meteorologists indicated Tuesday was the hottest day ever recorded, based on data from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Centers for Environmental Prediction.

Copernicus noted that sea surface temperatures were higher globally than any previous June on record, with "extreme marine heatwaves" around Ireland, Britain and the Baltic.

Antarctic sea ice reached its lowest extent for June since satellite observations began, at 17 percent below average.

C3S scientist Julien Nicolas told AFP the June record was driven largely by "very warm ocean surface temperatures" in the Pacific and Atlantic due to El Nino, a periodic warming phenomenon.

"On top of that is this warming trend of the ocean absorbing 90 percent of heat released by human activity," he added.

The global temperature was 0.53 C above the 30-year average at an average of 16.51C (61.72F), he calculated.

"June 2023 is way above the others. This is the kind of anomaly we are not used to," Nicolas said.

Petteri Taalas, secretary-general of the UN's World Meteorological Organization, warned on Monday that El Nino "will greatly increase the likelihood of breaking temperature records and triggering more extreme heat in many parts of the world and in the ocean."

He urged governments "to mobilise preparations to limit the impacts on our health, our ecosystems and our economies."

- Heatwave deaths -

El Nino is a naturally occurring pattern associated with increased heat worldwide, as well as drought in some parts of the world and heavy rains elsewhere.

In addition, human activity -- mainly the burning of fossil fuels -- is continuing to emit roughly 40 billion tonnes of planet-warming CO2 into the atmosphere every year.

As well as withering crops, melting glaciers and raising the risk of wildfires, higher-than-normal temperatures also cause health problems ranging from heatstroke and dehydration to cardiovascular stress.

In the United States, local officials said last week that at least 13 people died from an extreme heat wave in Texas and Louisiana.

China issued its highest-level heat alert for northern parts of the country as Beijing baked in temperatures around 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).

After a record hot June in Britain, water use restrictions were imposed in parts of southeastern England, and Scotland put regions on water scarcity alert.

The world has warmed an average of nearly 1.2 C since the mid-1800s, unleashing extreme weather including more intense heatwaves, more severe droughts in some areas and storms made fiercer by rising seas.

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