It’s Official: 2023 was the planet’s warmest year on record
According to NOAA 2023 was officially the hottest year on record globally! With it being the second-hottest year in the UK according to the Met Office. Along with the historic heat, 2023 also saw the Antarctic sea ice coverage dropped to a record low.
“After seeing the 2023 climate analysis, I have to pause and say that the findings are astounding,” said NOAA Chief Scientist Dr. Sarah Kapnick. “Not only was 2023 the warmest year in NOAA’s 174-year climate record — it was the warmest by far. A warming planet means we need to be prepared for the impacts of climate change that are happening here and now, like extreme weather events that become both more frequent and severe.”
“We will continue to see records broken and extreme events grow until emissions go to zero,” Kapnick said. “Government policy can address both emissions, but also actions to reduce climate impacts by building resilience."
“The observations of the UK climate are clear,” said Mike Kendon, at the Met Office. “Climate change is influencing UK temperature records over the long term, with 2023 going down as another very warm year. 2023 also had more than its fair share of rain, with impactful storms like Babet and Ciarán influencing the figures,” he said. “Climate projections suggest an increase in the frequency of hotter, drier summers and warmer, wetter winters. A warmer atmosphere has a greater capacity to hold moisture, so as our climate warms, we expect it to become wetter too and that trend is also apparent in the observations.”
The 10 warmest years since 1850 have all occurred in the past decade. Looking ahead, there is a one-in-three chance that 2024 will be warmer than 2023, and a 99% chance that 2024 will rank among the top five warmest years.
Greenpeace UK’s policy director, Doug Parr, said: “Climate alarm bells are ringing, following back-to-back hottest years on record, but Sunak has his fingers in his ears. There is massive voter support for climate action. Unless Sunak reverses these decisions and delivers the kind of bold policies needed to tackle the climate crisis, his likely short premiership will be marked as one of climate failure.”