2023 becomes hottest year on record as earth nears warming limit

The Earth recorded its hottest year till date as the agreed-upon warming threshold came dangerously closer. Data from EU climate monitors indicates that the year was 1.48 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times — barely below the 1.5 degrees Celsius limit set during the 2015 2015 Paris climate accord. The new year appears to have begun on a similar note, with January temperatures indicating a spike beyond the 1.5-degree threshold for the first time.

“2023 is confirmed as the warmest calendar year on record, with a global average temperature of 14.98°C — 0.60°C above the 1991-2020 level — overtaking the previous warmest year of 2016…It is likely that a 12-month period ending in January or February 2024 will exceed 1.5°C above the pre-industrial level,” the Copernicus Climate Change Service confirmed.

The Paris Agreement was adopted by 196 parties in 2015 and aims to hold “the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels”. The member countries are also pursuing efforts “to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.”

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“It was record-breaking for seven months. We had the warmest June, July, August, September, October, November, December. It wasn't just a season or a month that was exceptional. It was exceptional for over half the year,” said Copernicus Deputy Director Samantha Burgess.

The record heat made life miserable and sometimes deadly in Europe, North America, China and many other places last year. But scientists say a warming climate is also to blame for more extreme weather events, like the lengthy drought that devastated the Horn of Africa, the torrential downpours that wiped out dams and killed thousands in Libya and the Canada wildfires that fouled the air from North America to Europe.

(With inputs from agencies)