Record-Breaking: NOAA Declares 2023 as the Hottest Year Ever Recorded
On Friday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) officially verified that 2023 has secured the unprecedented title of being the warmest year ever recorded, a consensus previously echoed earlier in the week by the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.
According to NOAA’s annual global climate report, the average land and ocean temperatures in 2023 soared to 2.12 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th-century average. This remarkable figure represents the highest annual average in the 173-year history of temperature record-keeping. Notably, it also denotes the largest margin ever recorded between the hottest and second-hottest years. In this case, 2016, which was 0.27 degrees cooler, holds the second spot in the temperature hierarchy.
The preceding year exhibited a temperature anomaly of 2.43 degrees above the average for the pre-industrial era spanning from 1850 to 1900. Remarkably, all of the top 10 warmest years since 1850 have transpired within the last decade, as confirmed by NOAA, aligning with assessments from the Copernicus Service, NASA, and the U.K.’s Met Office, collectively affirming 2023 as the hottest year on record.
NOAA’s projections indicate a 1-3 chance of the current year surpassing the warmth of 2023, with a staggering 99 percent likelihood of it ranking among the five hottest years on record.
Simultaneously, Antarctic sea ice achieved a new nadir for the second consecutive year, dwindling to 690,000 square miles in February. Moreover, the upper ocean heat content, representing the heat stored in the upper 2,000 meters of the ocean, reached unprecedented levels. NOAA notes that the five highest upper-ocean heat levels have all been documented within the past five years.
“After seeing the 2023 climate analysis, I have to pause and say that the findings are astounding,” NOAA Chief Scientist Sarah Kapnick said in a statement. “
2023 not only clinched the title of the warmest year in NOAA’s 174-year climate record but did so by a significant margin. The escalating temperatures signal the imperative need to brace ourselves for the tangible impacts of ongoing climate change, such as the heightened frequency and severity of extreme weather events.
The anticipation of a new temperature record for the past year had been longstanding, especially following the confirmation of it being the hottest summer ever recorded. The Copernicus Service validated this record on Tuesday, expressing the likelihood that the 12-month period ending in either January or February will surpass the 1.5 degrees Celsius warming threshold established in the Paris Agreement.
