Scientists: “temperatures will continue to rise”
After months of anticipation, it has been officially announced that 2023 has become the hottest year ever recorded. The European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service declared the climate event after analyzing data that showed the world had the warmest November on record.
In 2023, the most anomalous temperatures were announced several times, and finally, employees of the Copernicus space program, which is engaged in sensing the Earth, announced that this year is the hottest.
According to Copernicus, from January to November 2023, average global temperatures were the highest on record — 1.46 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average. In September it was reported that the summer of 2023 was the hottest on record. And the most anomalous months were July and November.
Autumn was also the warmest and, in terms of average daily temperature, broke away from previous data, reports Copernicus.
“2023 had six record months and two record seasons,” Copernicus Deputy Director Samantha Burgess announced. She added that November's «extraordinary global temperatures mean 2023 will be the warmest year on record.»
This difference between pre-industrial times and today puts the world dangerously close to exceeding the 1.5 degrees Celsius global warming threshold that scientists have been warning about for years. Continued warming suggests that extreme weather events, already worsening, will become even more frequent and intense, making life worse through droughts, floods, hurricanes and wildfires.
And last month, it was reported that it was getting warmer there was not only air, but also water. The service said average ocean surface temperatures between the southern tip of Greenland and just below South America were the highest on record, about 0.25 degrees Celsius warmer than the previous record November 2015.
Copernicus has already warned earlier that 2023 will “almost certainly” receive the title of the warmest year. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a United Nations agency, echoed the EU watchdog's statement at the UN COP28 climate summit, saying the extreme conditions experienced this year «have left a trail of devastation and despair».
The WMO also published a report saying that the rate of climate change has «increased alarmingly» and that 2011-2020 was the warmest decade on record.
Recall that global temperatures are a major topic of discussion at the summit COP28 in Dubai, which runs until December 12. Greenhouse gases, which include carbon dioxide and methane, trap heat in the Earth's atmosphere. Thus, air temperatures rise and sea ice melts, causing water levels to rise.
Copernicus Climate Change Service director Carlo Buontempo tells CBS that this year's extreme temperatures will continue into the future unless radical changes are made quickly.
“As long as greenhouse gas concentrations continue grow, we cannot expect results different from those observed this year. Temperatures will continue to rise, as will the effects of heat waves and drought. Achieving net zero as soon as possible is an effective way to manage our climate risks,” said Buontempo.
Scientists say switching from burning oil and coal to sources such as wind and solar power is an important step toward reducing emissions. A study published in 2022 found that for every 1 percentage point increase in renewable energy consumption, per capita carbon dioxide emissions would fall by 1.25 percent. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory, part of the U.S. Department of Energy, also found that increasing the use of wind and solar power by 35 percent would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 25 to 45 percent.
“If you're digging a hole, and it gets too deep and you're not going where you want to go, the first thing you do is stop digging,” US climate envoy John Kerry said at COP28. He added that «the end of the conversation will be marked by an end to the emissions of toxic gases that are destroying the planet, the lives of future generations and our own ability to live.» At the end of his speech, he called for striving to improve the quality of life.