The World Meteorological Organization warns about this 2024 could be even hotter than 2023, Given that the El Niño event usually has the greatest impact on global temperatures after it reaches its peak.
This body has officially confirmed this 2023 will be the warmest year on record, “by a wide margin”. The annual average global temperature approached 1.5° Celsius above pre-industrial levels, which is symbolic because the Paris Climate Agreement aims to limit long-term temperature increase (averaged over decades rather than a single year like 2023) to no more than 1, To limit 5° Celsius above pre-industrial levels, it said in a statement.
Six international data sets Data used to monitor global temperatures and consolidated by the WMO show that the global annual average temperature in 2023 was 1.45 +/- 0.12 °C above pre-industrial levels (1850-1900). Global temperatures were reassessed in each month between June and December monthly records. July and August were the two hottest months on record.
“The transition from La Niña cooling to El Niño warming (fluctuations with a global impact on the surface temperature of the equatorial Pacific Ocean) by mid-2023 is clearly reflected in the year-on-year temperature increase. Since El Niño typically has the greatest impact on global temperatures after its peak. 2024 could be even hotter” said WMO Secretary General Celeste Saulo.
Accelerate the transition to renewable energy
“Climate change is the greatest challenge facing humanity. It affects us all, especially the most vulnerable. We cannot afford to wait any longer. We are already taking action, but we need to do more, and quickly. “We need to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and accelerate the transition to renewable energy sources,” he said.
Since the 1980s, each decade has been warmer than the last. The last nine years have been the warmest on record. The years 2016 (strong El Niño) and 2020 were previously considered the warmest on record, at 1.29 +/- 0.12 °C and 1.27 +/- 0.12 °C above the pre-industrial era, respectively.
Based on the six data sets, the 2014-2023 ten-year average was 1.20 +/- 0.12°C above the 1850-1900 average, accounting for some margin of uncertainty.
“Humanity’s actions are burning the earth. 2023 was just a preview of the catastrophic future that awaits us if we do not act now.” We must respond to record temperature increases with innovative measures” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
Extensive monitoring network
The WMO consolidated figures rely on six international data sets to provide a reliable assessment of temperature. 2023 was ranked as the warmest year in all six data sets.
The WMO uses datasets based on climatological data from Observatory, ships and buoys in global ocean networksdeveloped and maintained by the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (NASA GISS), the United Kingdom Met Office Hadley Center and the Climate Research Unit of East Anglia (HadCRUT) at the University of Berkeley Earth Group.
The WMO also uses reanalysis datasets from the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and its Copernicus Climate Change Service, as well as the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). The reanalysis combines millions of meteorological and marine observations, including from satellites, and uses a meteorological model to create a complete reanalysis of the atmosphere.