2023 Set to Become Warmest Year in 125,000 Years; EU Scientists

2023 Set to Become Warmest Year in 125,000 Years; EU Scientists

European Union scientists have issued a dire warning, stating that 2023 is “virtually certain” to become the warmest year in the past 125,000 years. This comes after data revealed that October 2023 was the hottest October in that 125,000-year period.

The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) of the European Union reported that last month broke the previous October temperature record, set in 2019, by a significant margin. The temperature anomaly for October was described as “very extreme,” with a 0.4 degrees Celsius difference from the previous record.

The surge in global temperatures is attributed to the continuous emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities, combined with the emergence of the El Nino weather pattern, which warms the surface waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

In October 2023, the average surface air temperature was 1.7 degrees Celsius higher than the same month during the pre-industrial period, defined as 1850-1900 by Copernicus.

With the record-breaking October, the prediction that 2023 will be the warmest year ever recorded has been made, surpassing the previous record held by 2016, which was also an El Nino year.

Copernicus relies on data going back to 1940, and when combined with the longer-term data from the United Nations’ climate science panel (IPCC), which includes readings from sources such as ice cores, tree rings, and coral deposits, scientists can assert that this is the warmest year for the last 125,000 years.

The severity of these temperature anomalies is evident in the fact that last month was the only time a month exceeded the temperature record by such a substantial margin since September 2023.

The impact of climate change is leading to increasingly destructive extreme weather events, including deadly floods, severe heatwaves, and devastating wildfires. Scientists emphasize the need for rapid greenhouse gas emissions reduction to combat this trend and avoid such events becoming the new normal.

Despite global efforts and ambitious emission reduction targets, global CO2 emissions reached a record high in 2022, highlighting the urgent need to accelerate climate action and reduce emissions significantly.