This summer has truly been scorching. Even after entering September, temperatures above 35°C is continueing, and I myself have been completely worn out. If it were just hot, I might still be able to endure it, but the fact that the heat drags on (meaning autumn gets shorter) is something I really wish we could avoid. Experts and the media attribute it to global warming (and of course that can’t really be denied), but I can’t help but feel that other factors may also play a significant role. After all, global warming didn’t just begin this year—yet the heat feels as though some invisible limit has suddenly been broken.
I’d like to think that some kind of global natural fluctuation is at play, with multiple factors combining to produce this. I don’t even want to imagine that summers like this year’s will continue every year from now on.
So I looked into things like “the solar cycle,” “changes in Earth’s rotational speed,” and “the impact of the Tonga undersea volcanic eruption.” But none of them seem to serve as decisive explanations. In fact, the change in Earth’s rotation speed may be more of a result of warming (due to altered ocean and atmospheric currents) than a cause. Earth’s Rotation Is Speeding Up Again — What’s Going On? August 5 Recorded One of the Shortest Days Ever
I came across an article reporting that the “Kuroshio Large Meander” ended around this spring. With the Kuroshio Current returning to its usual course, I wondered if it might help ease not only the catches of shirasu and Pacific saury but also this abnormal heat to some degree. Yet apparently, it’s not so simple. In fact, some regions could even face higher temperatures, and the truth is that the causal relationships between climate change and these kinds of large-scale natural fluctuations on Earth are still far from fully understood.