It’s not often we say this, but Nelly might be on par with Nostradamus.
The Band-Aid-branding, smile-on-the-rocks-sporting lyrical wizard predicted ever so eloquently in 2002 that it was, indeed, getting “Hot in Herre.” So far this year, climatologists say 2010 has tied with 1998 for the record of being the hottest year. And while that might not come as much of a surprise to all of us airing our shirts out after sitting down in class and blow-drying our armpit stains after walking around our house, we should all be alarmed by the irrefutable warming trend.
Because it really is getting hot in here.
With a temperature 1.17 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th century average, September was the 305th consecutive month with a global temperature soaring past the 20th century average, says the National Climatic Data Center.
And while 1.17 degrees seems like nothing while all of us are dealing with our still-beading-in-October forehead sweat, try telling that to the polar bears who are losing their ice sheets at an alarming rate. Or the mosquitoes running rampant farther north during a greater part of the year due to warming.
To these critters, 1.17 degrees can mean the difference between life and death. This year also saw the first time the City of Angels saw a hellish 113 degrees and the first time in history the Northwest Passage was ice-free.
So, skeptics, when you’re smugly enjoying leaving your energy-inefficient reading light on while your planet spontaneously combusts, don’t blame us.
We’ll have already packed up the polar bears and followed Nelly to safety.
