Climate change: 2023 will be the hottest year on record

Six months in a row, the Earth has broken heat records, positioning the planet for its hottest year since records have been kept in the middle of the 19th century.

The autumn of that year was also the warmest on record in the Northern Hemisphere.

These are the conclusions of the Corpernicus Climate Change Service of the European Union, which were made public on Wednesday. The US climate agency NOAA stated last month that there was a 99% chance that 2023 would be the warmest year since 1850.

The warmest year on record was previously 2016, but a string of unwanted temperature records, including one in November, have moved 2023 to the top of the list.

Academics are lacking sufficient adjectives

“The last half year has truly been shocking,” said Copernicus Deputy Director Samantha Burgess.

“2023 has now had six record breaking months and two record breaking seasons. The extraordinary global November temperatures, including two days [which were] warmer than 2 degrees Celsius (35.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial [times], mean that 2023 is the warmest year in recorded history.”

“Scientists are running out of adjectives to describe this,” she said.

In what degree was 2023 hot?

The average temperature in November was 14.22 C, 0.85 C higher than the average for the previous 30 years, according to the Copernicus report.

Overall, 2023 has warmed up by 1.46 C over pre-industrial levels on average over the year, which puts it extremely close to the 1.5 C global threshold established by the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, which stated that the figure should be reached by 2030.

However, there are no signs of a shift in direction even as diplomats, scientists, activists, and important international figures gather in Dubai for the ongoing COP28 climate summit.

COP28: Is a settlement possible?

A crucial negotiating text was leaked on Tuesday, exposing the challenges of bringing disparate nations to the same agreement. The plan proposes phasing out the use of fossil fuels, a move that major gas and oil producers like Saudi Arabia and Russia are opposed to.

Sultan al-Jaber, the head of the UAE’s state oil company, is hosting the summit. It has been reported that in a November video conference with UN representatives, he stated that “no science” supports the idea that cutting back on fossil fuels is required to keep global warming to 1.5 C over pre-industrial levels.