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Summer 2023 Was Hottest on Record, Scientists Say

Floodwaters cover the plain after the country's record rainstorm, in the village of Vlohos, in Thessaly region, central Greece, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. (AP)
Floodwaters cover the plain after the country's record rainstorm, in the village of Vlohos, in Thessaly region, central Greece, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. (AP)
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Summer 2023 Was Hottest on Record, Scientists Say

Floodwaters cover the plain after the country's record rainstorm, in the village of Vlohos, in Thessaly region, central Greece, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. (AP)
Floodwaters cover the plain after the country's record rainstorm, in the village of Vlohos, in Thessaly region, central Greece, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. (AP)

The summer of 2023 was the hottest on record, according to data from the European Union Climate Change Service released on Wednesday.

The three-month period from June through August surpassed previous records by a large margin, with an average temperature of 16.8 degrees Celsius (62.2F) - 0.66C above average.

Last month was the also the hottest August on record globally, the third straight month in a row to set such a record following the hottest ever June and July, the EU said on Wednesday.

August is estimated to have been around 1.5 degrees Celsius hotter than the pre-industrial average for the 1850-1900 period. Pursuing efforts to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius is a central pledge of the Paris international climate change agreement adopted by 196 countries in 2015.

July 2023 remains the hottest month ever recorded, while August's record makes the northern hemisphere's summer the hottest since records began in 1940.

"Global temperature records continue to tumble in 2023," Copernicus deputy head Samantha Burgess said.

"The scientific evidence is overwhelming, we will continue to see more climate records and more intense and frequent extreme weather events impacting society and ecosystems, until we stop emitting greenhouse gases," Burgess said.

In Europe, August was wetter than normal last month over large parts of central Europe and Scandinavia leading to flooding, while France, Greece, Italy and Portugal saw droughts that led to wildfires.

Well-above average temperatures also occurred over Australia, several South American countries and around much of Antarctica in August, the institute said.

Meanwhile, the global ocean saw the warmest daily surface temperature on record, and had its warmest month overall.

With four months left in 2023, this year is so far the second-hottest on record, only marginally behind 2016.

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Varieties

Taiwan’s Migrating Crab Population Rebounds Thanks to Safer Road Crossings

Pregnant mangrove land crabs during the annual breeding season at Taijiang National Park in Tainan, Taiwan, July 3 2026. (Reuters)
Pregnant mangrove land crabs during the annual breeding season at Taijiang National Park in Tainan, Taiwan, July 3 2026. (Reuters)
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Taiwan’s Migrating Crab Population Rebounds Thanks to Safer Road Crossings

Pregnant mangrove land crabs during the annual breeding season at Taijiang National Park in Tainan, Taiwan, July 3 2026. (Reuters)
Pregnant mangrove land crabs during the annual breeding season at Taijiang National Park in Tainan, Taiwan, July 3 2026. (Reuters)

Road closures and bamboo bridges have helped protect Taiwan's largest terrestrial crab species during breeding season when they return to the sea to lay eggs.

Taijiang National Park in the southern Taiwan city of Tainan is the mangrove land crab's most important habitat and has the island's largest population.

During the July-to-September breeding season, female crabs come ‌down to ‌the sea to release their ‌eggs, ⁠but because their migration ⁠route crosses roads, it leaves them vulnerable to being run over.

Taijiang National Park Director Chen Jun-shan said the road closures and bamboo bridges have helped reduce roadkill and contributed to a rise in observed crab ⁠numbers from more than 5,000 annually in ‌earlier years to ‌more than 10,000 last year.

"As for the ‌mangrove land crab, it can return all ‌of these nutrient sources back into the land, allowing the coastal forest to become more abundant," Chen said. "So if you protect the land crabs, the ‌entire coastal forest belt can be protected."

While the environment got short ⁠shrift ⁠during Taiwan's rapid industrialization from the 1960s to 1980s, it is now a priority for the government, with a network of protected areas and national parks across the island drawing visitors.

The Tainan park is also home to black-faced spoonbill birds, a species listed as "vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, but which has bounced back from near extinction.

Varieties

Study Points to Likely Route for Hannibal’s Legendary Alpine Crossing

The successful crossing of the Alps allowed Hannibal to bypass Roman defenses and pull off a string of stunning victories on the Italian peninsula during the Second Punic War. (AFP)
The successful crossing of the Alps allowed Hannibal to bypass Roman defenses and pull off a string of stunning victories on the Italian peninsula during the Second Punic War. (AFP)
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Study Points to Likely Route for Hannibal’s Legendary Alpine Crossing

The successful crossing of the Alps allowed Hannibal to bypass Roman defenses and pull off a string of stunning victories on the Italian peninsula during the Second Punic War. (AFP)
The successful crossing of the Alps allowed Hannibal to bypass Roman defenses and pull off a string of stunning victories on the Italian peninsula during the Second Punic War. (AFP)

Just how Hannibal managed to lead war elephants and a full army over the Alps to attack the Romans remains a mystery, but a new modern biology study points to a potential route.

The bold and legendary crossing in 218 BC, which allowed the ancient Carthaginian leader to strike Rome from the north, has long remained one of the most astounding and celebrated achievements in warfare.

Calculations about the energy requirements of Hannibal's force -- especially the elephants -- points to the Col de la Traversette as the most likely route, according to a study released on Monday by a group of German and British researchers.

The Col de la Traversette is a high-altitude mountain pass in the Cottian Alps at 2,947 meters (9,669 feet) on the border between modern-day France and Italy.

Researchers from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), the University of Jena and the University of Oxford used route models and elevation data to weigh the physical demands on Hannibal's army of roughly 40,000 men, thousands of horses and a reported 37 war elephants, using body mass data from modern African elephants.

"The new analysis does not eliminate all ambiguity, but it does strengthen the case for the Traversette route by demonstrating that it would better accommodate the demands of moving a large army that included elephants through extremely difficult alpine terrain," said co-author Emilio Berti of iDiv and the University of Jena.

Other routes considered -- such as the Col de Montgenevre, the Col du Clapier, and the Col du Mont Cenis -- would have required 11 percent, 16 percent, and 19 percent more energy, respectively, for the army to traverse.

The study also highlighted the immense physical strain the march through the Alps almost certainly imposed on Hannibal's army.

According to the models, the soldiers on the Traversette route would have lost around 19 percent of their body fat reserves, which could explain the high death toll.

In contrast, calculations for the war elephants indicated a loss of only about four percent of their energy reserves.

Many of the animals reportedly survived the mountain crossing.

The successful crossing of the Alps allowed Hannibal to bypass Roman defenses and pull off a string of stunning victories on the Italian peninsula during the Second Punic War.

Rome, however, managed to weather the setbacks and defeat Carthage in the conflict as well as the subsequent Third Punic War.

Varieties

King Abdulaziz Royal Reserve Records First Sighting of Red Phalarope

The red phalarope is a migratory seabird that spends most of its life cycle on the open ocean and breeds in Arctic regions. - SPA
The red phalarope is a migratory seabird that spends most of its life cycle on the open ocean and breeds in Arctic regions. - SPA
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King Abdulaziz Royal Reserve Records First Sighting of Red Phalarope

The red phalarope is a migratory seabird that spends most of its life cycle on the open ocean and breeds in Arctic regions. - SPA
The red phalarope is a migratory seabird that spends most of its life cycle on the open ocean and breeds in Arctic regions. - SPA

The King Abdulaziz Royal Reserve Development Authority announced that a specialized research team has documented the first confirmed sighting of a red phalarope (Phalaropus fulicarius) within the reserve, marking one of the rarest bird records ever documented in Saudi Arabia and the Arabian Peninsula, SPA reported.

Authority spokesperson Abdulaziz Al-Furaih said the bird was documented in February 2026 at the Sudair Artificial Wetland within the reserve.

The red phalarope is a migratory seabird that spends most of its life cycle on the open ocean and breeds in Arctic regions. Its appearance in an inland wetland in the Kingdom is considered an exceptional event, reflecting the reserve's growing environmental significance and its ability to attract rare species that migrate over long distances.

The discovery builds on a series of scientific achievements recorded in the reserve in recent years, including the documentation of rare species and the first confirmed breeding records of other species.

These accomplishments reinforce the reserve's position as a national platform for environmental research and monitoring and underscore its pivotal role in supporting the Kingdom's wildlife conservation and ecosystem sustainability objectives.