Last year was the hottest on record on Earth, the European Union’s climate change agency announced Tuesday, confirming what scientists had predicted and feared.
The EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Agency says global temperatures in 2023 will be higher than in any year dating back to at least 1850, reaching a level of “unprecedented highs” and averaging 1.48 degrees Celsius (Fahrenheit) higher than before the industrial revolution. 2.66 degrees) high.
This is a milestone that many climate scientists saw coming after a year filled with extreme weather. Since June, the Earth has been warmer than normal every month, with July and August 2023 becoming the two warmest months on record. According to Copernicus’ report.
This trajectory of global warming has been predicted by climate models, but last year’s developments remained exceptional.
Hadi Mizban / AP File
Samantha Burgess, deputy director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, said “2023 was an extraordinary year in which the climate record fell like dominoes,” adding that last year’s temperatures were “higher than any time in at least the past 100,000 years.” There is a high possibility that it will exceed that amount,” he added.
Last year, the effects of that warming were felt almost everywhere on Earth. A dangerous and intense heatwave has hit parts of North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. The world’s oceans were also unusually warm, with months of extreme sea surface temperatures, intensified storms, and tropical cyclones. And the fires raged during Canada’s historic wildfire season, burning at least 45 million acres and plummeting air quality in cities south of the border.
“Thanks to the work of the Copernicus Program throughout 2023, we knew there would be no good news today. But the annual data presented here shows that the impacts of climate change are increasing.” We provide further evidence that
Last year’s warm conditions were driven by El Niño, a natural weather pattern characterized by warmer-than-normal waters in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. El Niño typically exacerbates the background warming caused by anthropogenic climate change, increasing the likelihood of extreme temperatures.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images File
The Copernicus report highlights the challenges ahead in keeping global warming within limits set by the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement. In the climate agreement, countries agreed to limit temperature increases to 1.5°C (2.7°F) above pre-industrial levels to avoid the most devastating consequences of climate change.
According to the Copernicus report, almost half of the days in 2023 were warmer than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. According to Copernicus scientists, this criterion does not by itself mean that the goals of the climate agreement have failed, as it refers to a warming of more than 1.5 degrees over several decades, but it still “sets a disastrous precedent.” It is said that
The European report was one of the first to confirm this new record. Other organizations, including NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, are expected to release their own findings later this week.
Source: www.nbcnews.com
