Scientists from the European Union announced today, Wednesday, that 2023 will be the warmest year on record, as the average global temperatures during the first eleven months of the year reached the highest levels ever, being 1.46 degrees Celsius above the levels from 1850 to 1900. This record comes at a time when governments are engaged in marathon negotiations for the first time on whether to phase out the use of coal, oil, and gas, which are the main sources of carbon dioxide emissions, during the ongoing United Nations climate change conference (COP28) currently taking place in Dubai.
The Copernicus Climate Change Service stated that the temperature recorded from January to November was 0.13 degrees Celsius higher than the average for the same period in 2016, which is currently the warmest year on record. It added that November 2023 was the warmest month of the year ever recorded globally, with an average surface air temperature of 14.22 degrees Celsius, an increase of 0.85 degrees Celsius above the average for November from 1991-2020, and 0.32 degrees Celsius above the temperature level of the warmest month ever recorded in 2020.
Samantha Burgess, Deputy Director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, stated that this year "has now witnessed six record months and two record seasons. The extraordinary global temperatures recorded in November, including two days that were two degrees Celsius warmer than pre-industrial levels, mean that 2023 is the warmest year in recorded history."
EU scientists noted that the Northern Hemisphere autumn, from September to November, was also the warmest on record globally by a large margin, with an average temperature of 15.30 degrees Celsius, which is 0.88 degrees Celsius above average.
Carlo Buontempo, Director of the Copernicus Service, added, "As long as greenhouse gas concentrations continue to rise, we cannot expect different results from those we have seen this year. Temperatures will continue to rise, as will the impacts of heatwaves and droughts. Therefore, achieving net-zero temperature increases as soon as possible will be an effective way to address the climate risks we face."
Efforts are lagging behind in achieving the goal of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, which aims to keep global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels, with scientists warning of severe impacts on weather, health, and agriculture. The European Union has one of the most ambitious climate change policies among major economies, having issued several laws to achieve its 2030 goal of reducing net emissions by 55% from 1990 levels, which analysts say is the minimum required to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
