2023 Set To Break Terrifying Planet Record, Only Going To Get Worse?
As if 2023 wasn’t bad enough, Science Alert reported that October 2023 was the hottest October globally based on data from Europe’s climate monitor. Last month’s temperatures exceeded the previous average by significant margins, which means that 2023 may end up being the hottest year in the recorded history of our planet. This troubling data makes the upcoming UN COP28 climate conference in Dubai all the more urgent, as world leaders will meet to discuss issues like greenhouse gas pollution.
Rising Temps Cause Serious Issues Aross The Globe
2023’s potential hottest year on record status has already caused a myriad of issues, such as the United States and Mexico experiencing drought conditions while other regions experienced unusually wet conditions with storms and cyclones. Additionally, global warming pollution has caused the sea surface temperatures for the month to reach unprecedented levels. This, in turn, ramps up the intensity and destructiveness of storms.
2023 Will Be The Hottest Year On Record
October 2023 marks the fifth consecutive month of global temperature records being shattered, which has led Samantha Burgess, C3S deputy director, to state that the C3S can say with “near certainty” that 2023 will be the hottest year on record. Temperatures currently stand at 1.43 degrees Celsius hotter than the pre-industrial average. To curb this continuing trend of hotter and hotter temperatures, ambitious and significant action will be needed to mitigate the effects of climate change.
The Paris Agreement On Global Warming
In 2015, the Paris Agreement was signed by over 200 countries to pledge to limit global warming to below two degrees Celcius and preferably to a more comfortable 1.5 degrees Celsius. The current trajectory of the global average temperature sitting at the 1.43 Celcius mark and 2023 potentially being the hottest year on record underscores the need for aggressive action right away. Scientists are predicting that the full impact of this year’s warmer conditions will be felt the most at the end of 2023 and into 2024.
El Nino
Not only will 2023 potentially be the hottest year in recorded history, but proxy data has also led scientists to believe that this year may be hotter than even the official records data back to. Data from tree rings and ice cores suggest that this may be the warmest period in over 100,000 years. It doesn’t help that this year marks the beginning of the El Nino weather phenomenon, which warms Southern Pacific oceans and causes hotter weather elsewhere.
Increased sea temperatures, as always, are playing a central role in the climate problem. Since the oceans are a heat sink for 90% of the heat generated by human activities since the beginning of the industrial age, we’ve seen that October led to the ocean being 1.7 degrees Celsius warmer than the estimated average for October during the pre-industrial era. Along with contributing to 2023 being the hottest year on record, the warming oceans also have been linked to issues like severe storms, ice sheet destabilization, and the risk of destruction due to rising sea levels.
Is There Still Time To Make A Change?
Hopefully, the fact that 2023 is likely going to be the hottest year on record will lead to some real solutions following the upcoming UN climate conference. It remains to be seen if November will once again break temperature records. In any case, stay tuned, and we’ll keep you updated on this and other science news.
