Scientists in the European Union stated on Wednesday that it is "almost certain" that this year will be the hottest on record in the past 125,000 years after data showed that last month was the hottest in the world during that timeframe. The Copernicus Climate Change Service of the EU reported that last month broke the previous temperature record for October since 2019 by a significant margin. Samantha Burgess, the deputy director of the service, described the temperature anomaly in October as "extremely severe," stating, "The record was broken by 0.4 degrees Celsius, which is a significant difference."
The rise in temperatures is attributed to ongoing greenhouse gas emissions from human activity, coupled with the occurrence of the El Niño phenomenon this year, which contributes to the warming of surface waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Globally, the average air temperature at the Earth's surface last month was 1.7 degrees Celsius higher compared to the same month during the period from 1850 to 1900, which Copernicus labels as the pre-industrial era.
The service's statement indicated that October's record-breaking temperatures make it "almost certain" that 2023 will become the hottest year ever recorded, surpassing the previous record set in 2016 during another El Niño event. Copernicus began recording data in 1940. Burgess stated, "When we compare our data with that of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, we can say that this is the warmest year in the last 125,000 years." The long-term data from the IPCC includes readings from sources such as ice core samples, tree rings, and coral reefs.
