2023 on track to be hottest year

September had an average global air temperature of 16.38 degrees Celsius, making the month 0.93 degrees Celsius hotter than the 1991 to 2020 average, and 1.75 degrees Celsius hotter than the September average for the pre-industrial era, before the world started burning large amounts of fossil fuels. The month also witnessed devastating floods in Libya and Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey that killed thousands of people

As September registered unprecedented temperatures to become the fourth consecutive month of this year, 2023 is on track to be the hottest in recorded history, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.Data released by the Service on Wednesday revealed that September beat the previous monthly record set in 2020 by a staggering 0.5 degrees Celsius, reports CNN. There has never been a month so abnormally hot since Copernicus’ records began in 1940, it said.

“The unprecedented temperatures for the time of year observed in September -- following a record summer -- have broken records by an extraordinary amount,” Samantha Burgess, deputy director of Copernicus, said in a statement.

September had an average global air temperature of 16.38 degrees Celsius, making the month 0.93 degrees Celsius hotter than the 1991 to 2020 average, and 1.75 degrees Celsius hotter than the September average for the pre-industrial era, before the world started burning large amounts of fossil fuels.The month also witnessed devastating floods in Libya and Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey that killed thousands of people.

While Canada grappled with its unprecedented wildfire season, parts of South America were scorched by record-breaking heat.

Meanwhile, New York was flooded with record rainfall.Ocean temperatures also shattered records in September, CNN reported. The average sea surface temperatures reached 20.92 degrees Celsius, the highest on record for September and the second-highest on record for any month, after August of this year. Antarctic sea ice also reached record lows for this time of year.Due to these record-breaking events, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has put the chances of 2023 to becoming the hottest on record at more than 93 per cent.

According to scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York, July 2023 was hotter than any other month in the global temperature record.

“Since day one, President Biden has treated the climate crisis as the existential threat of our time,” said Ali Zaidi, White House National Climate Advisor. Against the backdrop of record high temperatures, wildfires, and floods, NASA’s analysis puts into context the urgency of President Biden’s unprecedented climate leadership. From securing the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest climate investment in history, to invoking the Defense Production Act to supercharge domestic clean energy manufacturing, to strengthening climate resilience in communities nationwide, President Biden is delivering on the most ambitious climate agenda in history.”

Overall, July 2023 was 0.43 degrees Fahrenheit (F) (0.24 degrees Celsius (C)) warmer than any other July in NASA’s record, and it was 2.1 F (1.18 C) warmer than the average July between 1951 and 1980. The primary focus of the GISS analysis are long-term temperature changes over many decades and centuries, and a fixed base period yields anomalies that are consistent over time. Temperature “normals” are defined by several decades or more – typically 30 years.

“NASA data confirms what billions around the world literally felt: temperatures in July 2023 made it the hottest month on record. In every corner of the country, Americans are right now experiencing firsthand the effects of the climate crisis, underscoring the urgency of President Biden’s historic climate agenda,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “The science is clear. We must act now to protect our communities and planet; it’s the only one we have.”

Parts of South America, North Africa, North America, and the Antarctic Peninsula were especially hot, experiencing temperatures increases around 7.2 F (4 C) above average. Overall, extreme heat this summer put tens of millions of people under heat warnings and was linked to hundreds of heat-related illnesses and deaths. The record-breaking July continues a long-term trend of human-driven warming driven primarily by greenhouse gas emissions that has become evident over the past four decades. According to NASA data, the five hottest Julys since 1880 have all happened in the past five years.

“Climate change is impacting people and ecosystems around the world, and we expect many of these impacts to escalate with continued warming,” said Katherine Calvin, chief scientist and senior climate advisor at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Our agency observes climate change, its impacts, and its drivers, like greenhouse gases, and we are committed providing this information to help people plan for the future.” Said GISS Director Gavin Schmidt: “The science is clear this isn’t normal. Alarming warming around the world is driven primarily by human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. And that rise in average temperatures is fueling dangerous extreme heat that people are experiencing here at home and worldwide.” (Agencies)