2023 marks the first time on record that every day within a year has exceeded 1 degree C above the 1850-1900 pre-industrial level
Last year was the warmest calendar year in global temperature data records going back to 1850, Copernicus Climate Change Service said on Tuesday.
In 2023, the global average temperature was 14.98 degree C, 0.17 degree C higher than the previous highest annual value in 2016. Last year was 0.60 degree C warmer than the 1991-2020 average and 1.48 degree C warmer than the 1850-1900 pre-industrial level. It is likely that a 12-month period ending in January or February, 2024 will exceed 1.5 degree C above the pre-industrial level.
Copernicus, which is the European Union’s Earth Observation Programme, said: 2023 marks the first time on record that every day within a year has exceeded 1 degree C above the 1850-1900 pre-industrial level. Close to 50% of days were more than 1.5 degree C warmer than the 1850-1900 level, and two days in November were, for the first time, more than 2 degree C warmer.
Samantha Burgess, Deputy Director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service said: “2023 was an exceptional year with climate records tumbling like dominoes. Not only is 2023 the warmest year on record, it is also the first year with all days over 1°C warmer than the pre-industrial period. Temperatures during 2023 likely exceed those of any period in at least the last 100,000 years.”
Carlo Buontempo, Director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service added: “The extremes we have observed over the last few months provide a dramatic testimony of how far we now are from the climate in which our civilisation developed. This has profound consequences for the Paris Agreement and all human endeavours. If we want to successfully manage our climate risk portfolio, we need to urgently decarbonise our economy whilst using climate data and knowledge to prepare for the future.”