- 2023 predicted warmest year.
- Record-breaking global temperatures.
- Urgency for climate action.
The warning comes after an unprecedented October, during which global temperatures surged by 0.4 degrees Celsius above the previous monthly record set in 2019.
Scientists predict that 2023 will be the warmest on record, a “virtually certain” forecast.
Urgency for Climate Action
This dire prognosis follows an October that set a new monthly record for global temperatures, with a rise of 0.4 degrees Celsius compared to the previous maximum set in 2019.
Samantha Burgess, deputy director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) of the European Union, described this temperature anomaly as “extremely extreme” and highlighted the extraordinary temperature anomalies seen in October, continuing the trend of record-breaking global temperatures in the previous four months.
COP28 and International Pressure
The near-certainty that 2023 will be the warmest year on record, with temperatures 1.43 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial era mean, adds pressure on world leaders to achieve ambitious outcomes at the COP28 climate change conference of the United Nations, concluding at the end of this month.
According to Ms. Burgess, the urgency for ambitious climate action before COP28 has never been greater.
October’s global mean surface air temperature was 1.7 degrees Celsius higher than the corresponding month in the pre-industrial era (1850–1909), which predates widespread human fossil fuel combustion.
Scientific warnings indicate that a 1.5C permanent global warming above pre-industrial levels could lead to catastrophic climate change consequences for ecosystems, people, and fauna.
“Seize the opportunity: Sign up for Webull UK and receive free shares!”
Signatories to the 2015 Paris Agreement have pledged to limit the global mean temperature increase to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century. Nevertheless, global CO2 emissions exceeded all previous records in 2022.
Climate scientist Dr. Friederike Otto of Imperial College London stressed that what matters about the record heat is “the suffering of systems and people.
Elevated temperatures also contribute to increased floodwaters, heatwaves, and the potential intensification of storm force.
Experts attribute this year’s elevated temperatures primarily to the emergence of the El Niño weather pattern, which warms surface waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean, and the ongoing emission of greenhouse gases from human activity.
The yearly milestone was first established in 2016, another El Niño year. Climate scientist Michael Mann of the University of Pennsylvania stated, “Most El Niño years are now record-breaking due to the fact that the additional global warmth caused by El Niño contributes to the steady rise of human-caused warming.”
