Former Vice President and climate change activist Al Gore called a new heat record set in Oman "ominous" in a tweet Saturday.
"Another ominous record has been set," Gore said. "The city of Quriyat, Oman, hit an overnight LOW of 108.7 degrees Tuesday- likely the highest minimum daily temp recorded on Earth. For those suffering from the heat in the U.S. this weekend, be safe and stay cool!"
Another ominous record has been set. The city of Quriyat, Oman, hit an overnight LOW of 108.7 degrees on Tuesday - likely the highest minimum daily temp recorded on Earth. For those suffering from the heat in the U.S. this weekend, be safe and stay cool! https://t.co/TizdAbAWLt
— Al Gore (@algore) June 30, 2018
Gore's comments were in response to a Washington Post article that reported the temperature in Quriyat did not drop below 108.7 degrees over a 24-hour period.
The report stands in contrast of Environmental Protection Agency Director Scott Pruitt and President Donald Trump's views on global climate change.
While Gore, along with 97 percent of climate scientists, agree that Earth's climate is warming and human activity is a primary factor, the Trump administration has pushed back on the scientific consensus. "Measuring with precision human activity on the climate is something that's very hard to do," Pruitt said on CNBC weeks after being sworn as EPA administrator. "There's tremendous disagreement about the degree of impact."
Trump, for his part, has repeatedly claimed that global climate change isn't actually happening. In 2012, Trump tweeted, "the concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive."
The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 6, 2012
He again called climate change a "hoax" in 2013 and 2014 before Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway told CNN in 2016 that Trump believes temperature shifts are "naturally occuring."
Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Climate Accord, a coalition of nations aimed at reducing emissions worldwide in 2017. "I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris," Trump said of his decision to leave the agreement.
Gore began to draw attention to global climate change in 2006 with his divisive documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, where he warned of the consequences of not taking action to combat rising global temperatures.
"Future generations may well have occasion to ask themselves, 'What were our parents thinking? Why didn't they wake up when they had a chance?' We have to hear that question from them now."
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
