For the sixth consecutive month, Earth has set a new monthly heat record, solidifying its status as experiencing the hottest autumn on record. Calculations by the European Climate Agency affirm this trend, pointing towards a concerning pattern of rising temperatures. The persistence of these record-breaking milestones underscores the urgency of addressing climate change and its impact on the planet’s climate systems.
As 2023 nears its end, it’s on track to break records as the hottest year, according to the European Space Agency’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. November, reporting a nearly one-third of a degree Celsius increase, set a new high, surpassing the warmest November on record. The month was 1.75 degrees Celsius warmer than pre-industrial times, tying with October as the second-warmest month. Copernicus Deputy Director Samantha Burgess expressed astonishment at the alarming trend, with November averaging 14.22 degrees Celsius, 0.85 degrees Celsius above the 30-year average.
Notably, two days in November were 2 degrees Celsius warmer than pre-industrial times, an unprecedented occurrence. The year, 1.46 degrees Celsius warmer than pre-industrial times, inches close to surpassing the 2016 record. Despite global efforts at COP28, scientists project a temperature increase of 2.7 to 2.9 degrees Celsius, surpassing the Paris Climate Agreement targets. Copernicus records the highest-ever temperatures in the northern autumn, while broader data and proxies indicate this decade as the warmest in about 125,000 years.
Researchers attribute the record-breaking heat to human-induced climate change and the El Niño-La Niña cycle, highlighting the urgent need for climate action.
The prevailing conditions include a formidable El Niño, a transient warming of the central Pacific, intensifying the far-reaching effects on worldwide weather patterns. This compounds the existing heightened global temperatures linked to climate change. Burgess highlighted the persistent release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, forewarning of escalating consequences such as catastrophic floods, fires, heat waves, and prolonged droughts. She underscored the imperative need for action, stating that unless there is a decisive shift away from fossil fuel dependency, the trajectory suggests that 2023 might be considered a relatively cooler year in the future.