Current:Home > Stocks2023 is "virtually certain" to be the warmest year ever recorded, climate agency says -EliteFunds
2023 is "virtually certain" to be the warmest year ever recorded, climate agency says
View
Date:2025-04-17 04:36:52
As 2023 creeps closer to its end, new climate data shows that the global average temperature is already the highest ever recorded – and that the year is "virtually certain" to be the hottest in observational history.
The data, compiled by the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service, shows that from January to October, average temperatures across Earth were 1.43 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average, a level dangerously close to the 1.5 degree Celsius warming threshold climate scientists have long warned would bring significant challenges for people worldwide. The average experienced so far this year is also .10 degrees Celsius higher than the 10-month average for 2016, scientists said, which is the current record-holder for the warmest year.
"We can say with near certainty that 2023 will be the warmest year on record," Samantha Burgess, deputy director of Copernicus, said. "...The sense of urgency for ambitious climate action going into COP28 has never been higher."
After months of dangerous and deadly heat waves across the globe, October continued the trend. Scientists said it was the warmest October ever recorded on the planet, with temperatures nearly half a degree warmer than the previous warmest October in 2019.
And October's heat wasn't just in the air – it was also in the ocean. Copernicus said in a news release that the average sea surface temperature for the month was more than 69 degrees Fahrenheit, the highest on record. The ocean absorbs 90% of the warming that takes place on Earth, and as both air and sea surface temperatures rise, it will continue to cause vital ice across the planet to melt, in turn, causing sea levels to rise. Last month, Copernicus said, was the sixth in a row in which the area of Antarctic sea ice was at record low levels for the time of year.
A warmer ocean is also fuel for hurricanes, putting more people at risk of natural disasters.
While the latest data paints a dire situation for the state of the climate crisis, it was not unexpected.
In May, the World Meteorological Organization warned that the planet will have its hottest year yet at least once within the next five years. This year has seen numerous climate extremes upon the return of El Niño, a natural climate pattern that occurs every few years when the Pacific Ocean warms.
With that message, WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas also issued another warning: "There's a 66% chance that we would exceed 1.5 degrees during the coming five years. And there's a 33% probability that we will see the whole coming five years exceeding that threshold."
Once the planet consistently hits average temperatures that are 1.5 degrees Celsius higher than pre-industrial times, scientists have warned that severe heat waves – which have already proved to be increasingly difficult to navigate – will become more frequent, as will periods of precipitation and drought, which will also be more intense. All of this will cause a strain on basic needs for human survival, including energy, food and water, and it is already making many areas in the U.S. "uninsurable" because of the risks.
The latest data was released a few weeks before the United Nations' COP28, a conference that aims to bring together government officials, investors, young people, Indigenous groups and others – including this year, Pope Francis – to develop solutions to limit the worst impacts of global warming, which is primarily amplified through the burning of fossil fuels.
- In:
- Climate Change
- Science
- European Union
Li Cohen is a social media producer and trending content writer for CBS News.
veryGood! (562)
Related
- Could your smelly farts help science?
- Suzanne Somers' family celebrates 'Three's Company' star's birthday 2 days after death
- Three children died in a New Orleans house fire in a suspected triple homicide, police say
- Mega Millions numbers from Tuesday's drawing: Jackpot reaches $69 million
- The company planning a successor to Concorde makes its first supersonic test
- 3 children killed in New Orleans house fire allegedly set by their father: Police
- Landscapers in North Carolina mistake man's body for Halloween decoration
- Joran van der Sloot admitted to killing Natalee Holloway on the beach, her mom says after extortion case hearing
- Opinion: Gianni Infantino, FIFA sell souls and 2034 World Cup for Saudi Arabia's billions
- Kosovo asks for more NATO-led peacekeepers along the border with Serbia
Ranking
- Warm inflation data keep S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq under wraps before Fed meeting next week
- Minnesota leaders to fight court ruling that restoring voting rights for felons was unconstitutional
- Who Is Nate Bargatze? All the Details on the Comedian Set to Host Saturday Night Live
- NFL Week 7 odds: Moneylines, point spreads, over/under
- How to watch new prequel series 'Dexter: Original Sin': Premiere date, cast, streaming
- Joran van der Sloot Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Extorting Natalee Holloway’s Mom
- Who Is Nate Bargatze? All the Details on the Comedian Set to Host Saturday Night Live
- What is hydrogen energy, and is it a key to fighting climate change?
Recommendation
EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
Former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice fights order to appear in court over impeachment advice
Defendant in Tupac Shakur killing case is represented by well-known Las Vegas lawyer
Russian-American journalist charged in Russia with failing to register as a foreign agent
Federal appeals court upholds $14.25 million fine against Exxon for pollution in Texas
Netflix raises prices for its premium plan
Simu Liu Reveals His Parents Accidentally Took His Recreational Drugs While House Sitting
Lane Kiffin trolls Auburn with a 'dabbing' throwback to Iron Bowl loss