It is now confirmed that the previous year has been noted as the warmest year in the history of the Earth.
The average land and ocean surface temperature in 2023 will be 2.12 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th century average, surpassing the next closest temperature in 2016, as stated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in a Friday press conference with NASA.
The troubling records set in 2023 don’t stop there. The amount of heat stored in the upper ocean is at an all-time high, and Antarctica’s sea ice is at the lowest level on record. World temperature records date back to 1850.
This announcement did not come as a surprise to those closely following the climatological record but it does highlight the rapid changes occurring in the world as climate change and excessive greenhouse gas emissions continue to transform our planet.
According to NOAA, the past decade has been the warmest decade in modern history. Scientists predict that the Earth will continue to warm until world leaders effectively limit the use of fossil fuels.
The magnitude of the temperature change in 2023 surprised scientists, especially in comparison to the expectations for the year.
“We are observing this and, frankly, we’re surprised,” said Gavin Schmidt, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies. “The prediction we had at the beginning of the year was that this year would be pretty much on trend and there was a slim chance of a record because we were starting out in La Niña phase. That didn’t work out.”
Land and ocean temperatures exceeded previous records by about 0.27 degrees Fahrenheit.
“That’s really big. Most records are set in a few hundredths of a degree. This is a huge leap forward,” said Russell Vohs, NOAA’s director of climate monitoring and evaluation.
Schmidt said researchers do not fully understand why average temperatures have risen so much, and more research is needed to understand why 2023 was such a significant outlier.
“More research is needed to understand what happened in 2023,” Schmidt said. “I’m baffled by the results so far. Oh my goodness, it’s been another record year.”
Temperatures in the U.S. reached the fifth-highest level of the year, according to NOAA. Severe weather caused record losses in the US, with government agencies reporting $28 billion in disasters, six more than the previous record.
On Friday, the World Meteorological Organization also confirmed that 2023 will be the warmest year in global temperatures. WMO compared six climate datasets produced by different organizations, and all six ranked 2023 as the warmest year on record.
The group said El Niño, a natural climate pattern that releases heat from the ocean into the atmosphere, could contribute to record heat in 2023 and dictate this year’s weather.
“The shift from a cooling La Niña to a warming El Niño by mid-2023 is clearly reflected in the increase in temperatures since last year. El Niño typically has its greatest impact after global temperatures peak. 2024 could be even hotter given the global warming,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Sauro. “While El Niño events occur naturally and come and go from year to year, long-term climate change is intensifying and is unquestionably the result of human activity.”
NOAA estimates there is a one in three chance that 2024 will be warmer than 2023.
Source: www.nbcnews.com
