The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), an EU funded organization, declared 2023 the warmest year on record, as global mean temperature from January through November surpassed the pre-industrial (1850-1900) average by a staggering 1.46 degrees as well as the previous hottest year, 2016, by 0.13 degrees.
November specifically was the warmest on record globally, with an average surface air temperature of 14.22 degrees, 0.85 degrees above the 1991-2020 average for the month and 0.32 degrees above the temperature of the previous warmest November, in 2020.
C3S Deputy Director Samantha Burgess comments, “2023 has now had six record breaking months and two record breaking seasons. The extraordinary global November temperatures, including two days warmer than 2ºC above preindustrial, mean that 2023 is the warmest year in recorded history.”
C3S Director Carlo Buontempo adds “As long as greenhouse gas concentrations keep rising we can’t expect different outcomes from those seen this year. The temperature will keep rising and so will the impacts of heatwaves and droughts. Reaching net zero as soon as possible is an effective way to manage our climate risks.”
