Heat 2023 ends as the hottest year in the history

Heat: 2023 ends as the hottest year in the history of the planet

Data released by the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service shows that 2023 was the hottest year ever recorded on the planet in the last 100,000 years. The monitoring recorded several recordbreaking weather conditions, with global averages above preindustrial levels of 18501900 and average temperatures 1.48°C warmer.

During monitoring conducted by the institution in 2023, several record weather conditions were reported, such as global daily averages that exceeded preindustrial levels of 18501900 and where temperatures were 1.48°C warmer.


Temperatures recorded around the globe from June 2023 contributed to the year being the hottest since records began in 1850. The global average temperature was 14.98°C 0.17°C higher than in 2016, the second year with higher temperatures.

The research shows that each of the months between June and December last year was the hottest during that period in history, with a focus on July and August, the two hottest months ever recorded in history. December also makes the list of months with the highest temperatures, with record average temperatures of 13.51°C 0.85°C above the 19912020 average.

Copernicus director Carlo Buontempo comments that the extremes observed in recent months are dramatic evidence of how far we are from the climate at the time when our civilization began to develop. “If we want to successfully manage our risk portfolio, we urgently need to decarbonize our economy and prepare for the future using climate data and knowledge,” he says.

The average could exceed 1.5°C in 2024

The Paris Agreement, signed in December 2015, committed to limiting the rise in global average temperatures to 1.5°C above preindustrial era levels. However, the reality does not follow the treaty line. According to the Climate Change Service, it is likely that the recorded temperature will exceed 1.5°C above preindustrial levels by February this year, a situation that puts the world at risk.

“This does not mean that we have exceeded the limits set in the Paris Agreement (as they refer to periods of at least 20 years in which this average temperature anomaly is exceeded), but it sets a terrible precedent,” the study describes.

Brazilian climate in 2023

The past year was marked by numerous temperature record breaks on Brazilian territory. Heat waves characterized the second half of 2023, with temperatures above 50 °C in Rio de Janeiro, temperatures above 37 °C in São Paulo, temperatures above 36 °C in the Federal District and extreme heat in practically all states in the country led.

*Intern led by Pedro Grigori

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