Hottest Year on Record

2023 has officially been named the warmest year on record, with significant factors being anthropological climate change and El Nino. The year was about 1.48 C warmer than the long-term average before fossil-fuel burning, according to the EU’s climate service. Global air temperatures and sea surface temperatures also hit record highs. 

At the beginning of the year, there were only a small number of days that broke records. However, heading into the second half of the year, there was an almost unbroken streak of daily records, with a high streak of 116 daily records between August 15 and December 8.

This worldwide record warmth has worsened and increased the frequency of many extreme weather events, from wildfires in North America to drought and flooding in east Africa. Antarctic sea-ice has hit a low, with glaciers in North America and the European Alps also experiencing an extreme melting temperature, contributing to the rising sea level. The ocean surface has been on an unbroken streak of record heat since May 4.

After the recent COP28 climate summit where countries agreed to tackle the issue of fossil fuels, countries hope to build on progress in areas such as renewable power and electric vehicles. These efforts can still make a crucial difference in limiting climate change.